Web Of Lies
by Ms.Hale
Summary: Forks: A small town; where everyone knows everyone. Population: 124. Crime rate: Nonexistent. That is until the mayor's step-daughter is brutally attacked and left for dead. When it seems a massive cover-up is in motion, it is up to Rosalie's closest friends and family to uncover the truth and find justice for the crime.
1. Prologue

Thunder roared overhead providing a gateway for a serrated bolt of lightning to strike. Wind rustled the soaked leaves covering the surface of the dark and desolated forest. The ominous storm released a downpour of rain that splattered against the muddy ground. There was an unnatural darkness surrounding the normally sunny afternoon sky. Regardless of the weather, a man was present. Covered in a black trench coat, mud splashed against his boots and jacket. As the fog thickened, the vision of the drenched man blurred. Fallen branches snapped under his feet. Trees swayed back and forth blocking his view of the lake. Another bolt of lightning struck, shredding the sky in half. As the storm grew more intense, he knew he needed to rush and finish the job. He needed to be back before anyone noticed he was gone.

The March temperatures dropped as the storm picked up. The knuckles on his hands turned white with each passing gust of wind. His cold hands were wrapped around the unconscious woman's ankles, and he gave her light body an angered and frustrated pull. The lake was growing close. Through his distorted vision, he could see her chest slowly rising and falling. The last time he checked, her pulse was weak. The lake water would definitely finish her off.

High winds picked up, forcing his trench coat to open. Splashes of rain, mud and grime appeared on his sweater within seconds. He took a firmer grip on her ankles and pulled even harder. Her back left drag marks in the susceptible mud. As he reached the top of the clearing, a wide view of the lake appeared. He just needed to dump her, and then he could be on his way.

The man peered over the hill and smiled down at the dark void that filled the once beautiful lake. Usually sunlight radiated from its surface, but due to the current weather, rainfall splattered against the creek. He dropped her ankles, and cracked his frigid knuckles before lifting her up into his sore arms. From the looks of the scratches and dark bruises appearing on his arms, she'd definitely put up a good fight.

If the drop into the lake didn't finish her off, the water's temperatures surely would. He whispered an apology into her ear before releasing her unconscious body. The big splash signaled her drop. She made contact with the water and her face remained motionless. The water pushed against her from all directions. She was still out cold and couldn't struggle against the forceful waves. Her muscles were relaxed entirely. The open cuts on her face and body began to clear of blood as the water washed it away. He sighed to himself in relief as she began floating away.

The man gathered himself and took off. He ignored the growing storm and ran as fast as his body allowed in the direction of the main road. His car was still parked. As he grew near his car, a sense of relief washed over him. She was gone. There was no way to tie him to her attack. He stepped into his dry vehicle, looked in the rear view mirror and smiled, "Yes." His forehead rested against the stirring wheel. As he started his car, and drove off, he couldn't help but laugh. He got away with it. No one knew…and he had an alibi for the entire day.

**-Tiffany.**


	2. Aftermath

After over an hour of unpleasant storm weather, a camping family unzipped the zipper to their tent. It managed to last through the entire storm. He was satisfied with his purchase. The family –consisting of a father, wife, and son- stepped out of their temporary shelter. At the sight of the aftermath from the storm, the mother groaned in annoyance, "We just got here. You didn't think to check the weather before we left!"  
"Well sorry if I was a little busy with packing the car," The father kicked garbage to the side in order to look over their destroyed possessions, "Let's scan the area to see what wasn't damaged."  
"At least it isn't raining anymore," the young son beamed, looking up at his parents.  
His dad's arm wrapped around his shoulders, "You're right. Let's check down by the lake to see if anything blew towards it."

The lake currently being a few feet from their campground held a few of their belongings. The father and son smiled gratefully as they began to pick up their property. The nine year old walked along the shore of the lake as he glanced at the possessions that were left by other people. His eyes smiled at the sight of a soaking wet wallet, and as he leaned forward to grab it, he noticed a figure floating a few feet from him. "Dad," the young boy shouted from the top of his lungs.

The father dropped all of the belongings he held. At the sound of their frantic son, his wife appeared next to him. The couple held eye contact before racing off towards their offspring. Before his father could question him on his loud outburst, they noticed the woman. The father kicked off his shoes before diving into the cold water, "Be careful!" His wife shouts in panic.

The older man swam as fast as the cold water and low currents allowed. He grabbed onto her outstretched hand, and pulled her in. She was unconscious. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her towards him, "Honey," he shouted, spitting water out of his mouth, "Call an ambulance!" He could see his wife nod, before taking off towards their campsite.

The father reached the rocky shore and struggled to pull the woman along with him. Swimming in the cold water against windy lake waters took a toll on his body. His weak state prevented him from pulling her out of the water.  
"Austin!" He called for his son, "Help me!" The son followed his dad's orders, and grabbed the woman's arm. The two worked together and pulled the feeble woman onto damp land.  
"Garrett we need to get her to the main road! The ambulance is on its way!" His wife reappeared, holding her cell against her ear.  
The dirt and grime on her face made her completely unrecognizable. Garrett used some of the fabric from his wet shirt and wiped at her swelling face, "Kate…" Garrett whispered, continually wiping the muck off, "It's Rose." Kate glanced down at the seventeen year old.

Garrett rose to his feet and lifted the young woman with him. As he cautiously followed his wife and son through the forest –being careful not to re-injure the teenager- he took in her appearance. Her clothes are completely torn. The slash in her shirt revealed a disheveled black bra and a laceration that was in need of stitches. The rip in her cut off shorts gave a clear view of her underwear and the stained blood smudged against her legs. Garrett had to tear his eyes away. When he and Kate were teenagers, they used to baby sit her.

The desperate man glanced at her whitish face. A large gash was etched deep into her forehead, starting from the top of her hairline and ending at the tip of her ear. Her bottom lip held a few minor cuts. And her blonde hair was stained in red from a head wound most likely not visible to the regular eye.

Her body was limp in his arms, and it frightened him. Rosalie would occasionally watch Austin when he and Kate needed a date night. She was family to them. His bottom lip quivered, "Can you hear me Rosalie?" No sign of movement. "You don't have to say anything…just give me a sign." Nothing followed. Kate looked back in alarm. He adjusted his grip on her body, "She's cold Kate."  
His wife shook uneasily, "Warm her up! We're almost there!"

Garrett flushed her body against his. His eyes took in the injuries that he could see. Her neck held bruises in the shape of a hand-print. Purple, black and blue discolorations were everywhere. From around both of her eyes, to her neck, and all the way down her legs, the bruising grew darker with each passing second.

Sirens could be heard growing near, and the sight of the main road appeared. Kate smiled in relief, "Over here!" She waved her arms in the air as they approached the side of the road. The ambulance screeched to a stop, and in seconds the back doors flew open, and out rushed two paramedics wheeling a gurney, "Is she conscious?"  
"No," Garrett answered, gently setting her body down onto the gurney, "Call her parents Kate."  
Kate nodded, as she pulled out her cell phone, "I'll call her mother, but should I really call her dad?"  
"Of course!"  
Kate nervously wiped her forehead, "Aro just got out of prison a few months ago. He's going to find who did this to her…and they'll send him back."  
"I don't care," Garrett growled, as the paramedics checked her pupils, "Whoever did this to her deserves the wrath of Aro." Kate stepped away to make the separate phone calls.  
"Is she going to be okay Jane?" Austin worriedly asked, biting down upon his lip.

Before they took her to the hospital, they needed to get her stabilized. At this rate, she wouldn't make it there alive. Jane checked her pulse, "Her pulse is going abnormally fast." She looked at her partner, "Alec how's her pupils?"  
"Dilated," He answered concernedly, "She could be going into shock. We need to get her out of here right now."  
"Lillian's on her way to the hospital," Kate announced, dialing Aro's number, "I'm calling her father now."  
Garrett pulled out his car keys, "We'll follow behind you."

The ambulance doors shut, the sirens blared and the vehicle sped off down the wet road. Garrett followed after his wife as she ran to the car with Austin at her side. Kate buckled her seat belt, and made sure her son was settled, before allowing Garrett to speed off.  
"What did he say?" Garrett looked at his wife briefly before focusing back onto the road.  
Kate let out a weak laugh, "He was pissed with good right, but Garrett he's a ticking time bomb and I'm afraid at what he'll do if Rosalie doesn't make it."  
He set his hand upon his wife's thigh, "She's going to pull through. And I know you're worried for Aro, but you're his cousin and he has brothers and you all will help him get through this."  
"He and Lillian are going to be in the same room together Garrett, and since the divorce years ago, the two of them are constantly at each other's throats, especially when she remarried the mayor."

Garrett gave his wife's thigh a light squeeze before placing his hand back at the wheel. Luckily, no cars were out, especially since the wild storm has just passed minutes ago. Kate bit against her nails in apprehension, "Of all the girls, her?" The young mother rocked back and forth in her seat, "Of all the towns, this one? We don't have crime Garrett. That's not what we do here!"  
"No place is completely crime free."  
"We're damn near close to it though. We have petty crimes like shoplifting…not-"

Her argument was ended at the sight of the town's only hospital growing near. Her breath hitched as her husband illegally parked their car, and the small family hopped out. She spotted the familiar cars of Forks' residents, and instantly knew who was here. Garrett grabbed her hand in comfort, and escorted his wife and son inside. Once the doors shut behind them, they noticed the dismal friends and relatives of Rosalie facing them.  
"We saw her," Lillian tried to cover her face, but her shaking hands would not allow it, "Who did that to her? Who did that to my baby?"  
Garrett slowly shrugged his shoulders, "We don't know. We were out camping and found her floating in the lake."  
"Someone just left her out there to die!" Aro fumed dejectedly. The inconsolable father turned to face his ex-wife, "You were supposed to be watching her! She was under your care, and you didn't do the _one _thing a mother is supposed to do; protect their children! This is your fault Lillian, where the hell was you while our daughter was getting attacked?"  
"I was at work! I'm sorry if I can't watch her 24/7, but I am the head doctor at the veterinary hospital, so excuse me if my career keeps me a little busy!"  
"I'm not surprised your career comes first," Aro shrugged, looking at his ex-wife in pure hatred, "I always knew something bad would happen as a result of your career coming first, and I just thought it was our divorce," he evilly smirked, "but that wasn't bad after all. It turns out, it was this! It was us ending up here in the hospital waiting on word about our daughter!"

Lillian shoved her ex-husband back, "You don't get to blame me! I was here the entire time! You were in prison for eight years, and you get out a year ago and decide to call the shots! That's not how it works! You don't get to act like the perfect parent when you were gone for eight years!"  
"I kept in contact," he spat, angrily.  
"Through phone calls, letters and once a week visits, but that does nothing in raising a child! She's 17, and now you're trying to make up for the time you lost with her. That doesn't work!" Lillian's face grew red as the volume of her voice grew louder, "You do not have the right to insinuate that I'm a bad parent when you were an absent one!"  
"That's my kid back there," Aro pointed towards the ER doors, "That's my only child back there fighting for her life, and when she left me today; she said she was meeting up with you, but I received a text from her complaining because you said you were going to be running late! If you were on time," Aro's voice grew in rage, "If you were on time maybe all of this wouldn't have happened!"  
"That's enough!" James hollered, interrupting his mom and Aro's bickering, "Rosalie is back there fighting for her life…and all you two do is argue! When she gets out of surgery, she doesn't need to hear this! I know you don't like each other right now, but try to…at least for Rose."

James must have just returned home from living on the army base. He wrapped up his last year as a soldier, and instead of coming home to a welcoming celebration, the poor guy arrived to find out his sister was brutally attacked. The twenty-four year old rose from the uncomfortable waiting chair and approached the receptionist desk, "Is there any word?"  
"Sorry James," Victoria sadly pouted, "Once I know something, you'll be the first I tell."

Garrett scanned the waiting room and took in the other people. Besides the individuals here for themselves, he could easily pinpoint those here for Rose. Jasper, her best friend and neighbor was being comforted by his parents. Emmett, her boyfriend, didn't want to hear the comforting words of anyone. After seeing how Rose came in, he blocked out any conversation that didn't provide him answers to his girlfriend's state. Alice, her closest friend, sat in shock. Her eyes were wide and her hands shook against her sides. When Rosalie was wheeled in, she took a quick hold of her best friend's hand, but the limp body part felt lifeless…and Alice would never forget the feeling. Bella and Edward were consoling each other. Her head rested against his chest, and she could feel his loose tears occasionally fall onto the shoulder-sleeve of her blouse.

Caius and Marcus pulled their brother to the side, and tried their best to keep him calm and level-headed. When Rosalie comes out of this, he'll be one of the first people she would want to see.  
"Garrett," Carlisle gloomily called out, sparking the attention of every person in the waiting room.

He was a doctor at the hospital, but he was off today. Carlisle came to the hospital with his wife and sons after finding out from Victoria that an ambulance was dispatched to pick up Rosalie. Garrett turned to face the doctor, "Yes?"  
"We need answers at least on what's wrong with her. When you all found her, what condition was she in? Where were the bruises? The scratches? The bleeding? I can at least try and guess what happened to her."  
Garrett looked over to Rosalie's inconsolable mother, "She was floating in the lake about ten miles from La Push beach. She had bruises everywhere. Hand prints on her neck. There was a cut," Garrett points to his forehead, "from here," he traces it to his ear, "to here. Uh, I don't want to say anymore."  
"No," Lillian shook her head, rising to her feet, "I need to know something. They won't tell me anything!"  
"Her clothes were torn…and," Garrett took a seat to calm his nerves. He felt his wife press her hand to his shoulder, "there was blood."  
This pulled in Aro's attention, "Where?" he stepped away from his brothers.  
Garrett didn't answer verbally. He simply pointed to the area, and at the realization, Aro stormed out of the hospital.

Lillian gathered herself and chased after her ex-husband. He may not be her biggest fan, but they had at least one thing in common; their love for their daughter. She could barely see through her tear-filled eyes, "Wait," she grabbed his arm, "Where are you going?"  
"To find this sadistic bastard," he answered, struggling to keep his cool.  
Her arms crossed, "And do what?"  
Aro refused to answer, but she automatically knew what that meant. Lillian released his arm and released a loud cry, "Please Aro, we may not get along, but right now our daughter needs the both of us."  
"…that's only if she survives this." Before he could continue his statement, her hand slapped across his face, "You don't get to just give up, especially on her! She needs you! Your family needs you! I need you."  
"You need me," he scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Where's your husband, the mayor? Shouldn't he be here? Shouldn't your husband and step-son be here with you Lillian?"

Lillian's lip quivered as she wrapped her arms around her waist. When she got the call, she just came from performing leg surgery on a cat. Afterwards, she was supposed to be meeting her daughter at home to welcome James back. However, those plans quickly changed.  
She stepped forward; "Aro-"  
"Lillian," the grief-stricken mother looked up at the mention of her name. Standing a few feet behind Aro was her husband and step-son, "I just got your message," he glanced to the ex-convict and nodded, "Aro."  
Aro's eyes glared, "Hello Royce Sr.," he greeted the mayor before turning towards the mayor's son, "Hello Royce."

**-Tiffany.**


	3. Comatose

As the soles of Alice's father, Dr. Brandon's shoes made contact with the tiled floor, everyone rose from their seat. Royce Sr.'s hand intertwined with that of his wife as the older doctor waved for everyone to follow him out of the waiting room. He escorted the family and friends of Rosalie to the nearest vacant, private room because what he had to tell them was of a sensitive matter. Royce kept close to his father and step-mother, and awkwardly avoided eye contact with Aro. The ex-convict creeped him out entirely. Aro didn't trust anyone –especially when it came to his daughter- and therefore Royce wasn't the only one he frightened, just his presence scared everyone around him. Until he got to the bottom line of what happened, everyone was a suspect. From neighbors, friends, family and acquaintances, Aro was ruling no one out.

After countless hours of surgery, the various amounts of operations done on Rosalie were finally over. A few hours ago, Kate and Garrett left with Austin after Caius and Marcus promised to keep them updated on Rose's prognosis. Renee and Charlie briefly stopped by the hospital to bring everyone something to eat, before heading back home. After Jasper promised to give Edward and Emmet a ride home, Carlisle and Esme left the hospital. The two needed to wake up early in the morning for work the next day. Besides Rosalie's brother and parents, remaining at the hospital with them were Jasper, Emmett, Alice, Bella, Caius, Marcus, Royce Sr. and Jr. Jasper's father, Brady Whitlock, the police commissioner arrived a few minutes ago to get Rosalie's statement, and he decided to wait with his son for any word on her status.

As the door shut behind the last person, Lillian fell onto the couch. Her husband took a seat next to her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "What happened to you?" Lillian took a glance at her husband's knuckles.  
"I'll explain later," he pecked his wife's forehead before turning to Jeremy, "How is she doctor?"  
"First off, I want to let you all know that she's alive. She's strong and her vitals are good."  
Alice wiped the corner of her eye, "Dad, why do I feel like there is a but coming?"  
"During the assault, Rosalie received an extensive amount of trauma to her head, that's why she never regained consciousness when Garrett found her and when the paramedics brought her in."  
Lillian spoke through her dry throat, "What do you mean by extensive?"  
"After running a CT scan and giving her an MRI, we noticed that there was a significant amount of bleeding and swelling in the brain, but we managed to stop the hemorrhage, but time is the only solution to stop the swelling. We gave her medication for the cerebral edema, but it can only do so much. Your daughter, also has a closed skull fracture, which we managed to successfully take care of right away." he answered, watching as Rosalie's mother took in the news, "During surgery," his eyes fell towards Aro, "Rose fell into a coma and she hasn't woken up. Now, don't panic, this usually happens when there is a great deal of swelling in the brain. She should wake up when the swelling goes down."  
James took a seat on the unoccupied side of his mother, "What if she doesn't?"  
"If she remains in the coma for more than four weeks, she'll be categorized as being in a continuing vegetative state. If she still doesn't wake or show any signs of progress between six to twelve months, then we'll classify her as being in a permanent vegetative state."

Lillian's breath hitched in her throat as she looked up to meet the eyes of her ex-husband. Aro was inordinately quiet, and she needed to make sure he wasn't going to snap any time soon. Without pulling her eyes from Aro, the veterinarian mother continued, "Then what?"  
"If she continues to show no signs of progress, we'll request to withdraw treatment." Dr. Brandon shook his head at the sound of his daughter's whimpers, "But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's allow for the swelling to go down before we start thinking like that," Jeremy Brandon scanned through the folder of Rosalie before carrying on, "She needed over seventy stitches and over ten bandages applied to her body. There was internal bleeding in her abdominal cavity and," When Dr. Brandon approached the last page, he wiped the hesitation out of his mind, and decided to get it out of the way, "There was an indication that Rosalie was sexually assaulted at some point during the attack. We're running tests to make sure there are no after effects such as disease and pregnancy."

The police commissioner raised his finger as a sign that he had something to say. Jasper sighed in his seat as he watched his father stand up, "Was there any evidence left behind, either under her nails or left during the sexual assault?"  
"Dad!" Jasper shouted, turning his father to face him, "You're not helping. We just found out everything that happened to Rose and you're already in cop mode! We don't need to hear that right now. So, please just leave."  
"I'm trying to help your-"  
"Leave!"  
Brady Whitlock adjusted the hat atop of his head, nodded towards Rosalie's parents before leading himself out of the private room.

Over the awkward silence that fell, Lillian spoke up, "Can we see her?"  
"We just moved her to ICU, that's the intensive care unit for around the clock observation. I'm going to check on her vitals and stats, prep her for visitors and then I'll come back to get you all."

Once the door closed behind the doctor, Aro rose from his seat. His feet began to pace around the small room as he held his fist up against his mouth, "I don't get it. She's seventeen. She gets decent grades. She volunteers. She goes to church. She works part-time. She's definitely a better person than I am, but none of that came into consideration when this asshole attacked her!"  
"Don't get worked up."  
"Seriously Lillian, you're telling me not to get worked up! Our daughter was beaten to the point that she fell into a coma! You shouldn't be concerned with the fact that I'm getting worked up, you should be concerned with the fact that we all know each other in this small town and someone that we know and trust did this to our Rosalie." His hand slammed against the wall as he struggled to contain his breathing, "I may not always come through on my promises, but I will promise you this, I'm going to find out who did this…and when I do, I'm going to kill them."

For a town with a population of 124, Aro knew he would be able to find the bastard. And as the only ex-convict in the exceptionally small town of Forks, people internally feared him, although they didn't allow for it to show. Aro had a way of unknowingly threatening people, and because the townspeople knew that there is a higher chance for him to follow through with that threat, the police were constantly called on him. He was always just given a warning and then released.

At the end of his declaration, the door opened and Dr. Brandon glumly entered the room. He noted the distraught look on everyone's face, before speaking up, "As a friend to most of you, I know you don't want to see her like that. I would advise you all to come back when some of the bruising goes down."  
"She's my daughter!" Lillian tore her hands from her husband and James, "I can handle it!" She stood up and approached Alice's father, "I just need to see her to convince myself that she's okay."  
"That's the thing Lillian, if you see her; you won't be able to assure yourself of that."  
She took a grip of the doorknob and pushed the exit open, "Let me be the judge of that Jeremy."

While it went against his friendly advice, according to the hospital policy, she had the right to see her daughter. He waved for Aro and James to follow him, "Hospital policy permits for two visitors at a time, but I can make an exception. When you three are done," he turned to face his daughter and her friends, "then you all can go see her."  
Caius pulled out his cell, "I'm going to give Kate a call."  
"And I'll call Carlisle," Marcus added, following behind his brother.  
"I actually have to return to work," Royce Sr. spoke up, pulling his car keys out of his pocket, "You'll keep me updated." Lillian answered with a nod.  
His son rose to his feet, "Actually dad, you're my ride home. I'll talk to you later Lillian," he gave his step-mother a peck to her cheek, "Give Rose a hug for me."

Lillian gave her extended family a small smile. All she could think about was her little girl lying in a hospital bed completely unaware of the world around her. While she truly would enjoy and appreciate her husband's support, she didn't feel like arguing with him over staying when she can be sitting at her daughter's bedside.

The silent walk down the corridor of the semi-empty hospital was overwhelming. As Aro walked ahead of his ex-wife, he could hear her growing breath. The excessive amount of over-breathing pulled the man to a stop, "Are you okay?" James ran up to his mother's side after hearing Aro's worry. A mixture of panting, gulping, hiccupping and shallow breaths proceeded to echo from the despondent mother. She clenched onto her son's wrist, "I'll be fine," she squeezed tight as they approached the outside of her daughter's hospital room.  
Dr. Brandon turned to face his friends once more, "I'm going to ask again…Are you sure?"  
"Open the door Jeremy," Aro sighed.

As the door slowly screeched open and they stepped inside, the darkness in the room swallowed them whole. Jeremy flicked the light switch on illuminating the once shaded and melancholy room. Once the door closed behind her, Lillian felt her chest rapidly contracting at the sight of her daughter. The thick white bandage wrapped around Rosalie's forehead pulled tears to Lillian's eyes. Inserted in her daughter's mouth was a breathing tube –held in place with tape extending around her neck and chin- and at the other end of the pipe is a breathing ventilator. It's currently providing an airway so that enough oxygen can properly be given to her lungs just in case she was to stop breathing on her own. As she closed in the distance between she and her daughter, her hand stretched out and took a hold of her paling and cold palm. Lillian made sure to not bother the IV sticking out of the back of her daughter's hand.  
"Here," James pulled a seat up for his mother to sit.  
"Was she shot," Aro observed the wide bandages wrapped around his daughter's forehead and waist "Was she stabbed? Are you able to tell what they beat her with?"  
Dr. Brandon composedly nodded his head, "She wasn't shot or stabbed. She was beat up…and from the size and shape of the bruises, no weapon was used. Whoever attacked her used their hands."  
"They beat her up to that extent," Lillian exclaimed as her fingers traced the bruises along her daughter's arm.  
"Someone did all of THAT with their hands!" Aro shouted, rushing up to his comatose daughter. He would have been conscientious about waking her up, but he needed her to waken. Aro gently took a hold of each side of her face and examined the bruises. Both eyes were swollen shut. Her bottom lip was puffy and the white bandage that wrapped around her head pressed her blonde –stained with blood- hair down flat against her head.

His fingers drifted down to her collar, and the size of the embedded handprint into her neckline sparked an aggressive growl. His chin trembled as his upper teeth bit down onto his lower lip, "Does she really need to be hooked up to all of these machines?" The constant beeping on the countless machines plugged into his daughter drove him insane.  
"Yes, they're all working to keep her alive."  
Lillian lifted her head that was previously resting against her daughter's hand, "Are you telling me that without these machines, my daughter would be dead?"  
"They're more of a precaution and they're also more of a way to ensure either comfort, provide the basic needs of living or to make sure her status doesn't worsen." He pointed to the IVs sticking out of her hands and the cubital fossa of her arms, "The IVs are hooked up to her to provide fluids, medications and electrolytes. This machine is for blood pressure and this is for her heart rate," he pointed towards the two different machines, "And the nurse will come in later to set up a feeding tube, she'll be catheterized to relieve body waste, and then every few hours we'll move her around to prevent muscular atrophy and bedsores." He gave the crying mother a reassuring nod, "She'll be bathed by a female on our staff every other day." Dr. Brandon gave the small family a heartening grin as he backed towards the door, "She'll be well taken care of. Coma patients have round the clock care. I'm going to give you all some time with Rosalie," he gave the comatose teenager a gentle smile, "if you need me just get Victoria to page me. I'll be doing rounds."

Lillian leaned her head back down onto her daughter's hand. She silently cried into Rosalie's open palm, as James took a hold of her free hand. The bereaved mother could hear her ex-husband constantly pacing back and forth behind her, making her increasingly agitated, "Can you please calm down and stop pacing?!" Lillian turned around to shoot him a glare, "You're…you're getting me worked up."  
"Sorry." He came to a stop behind her seat and placed his hand upon her shoulder.  
"You know," she set her free hand on top of his hand, "that's the first time you've said sorry to me in ten years."  
Aro pulled his hand away, "Yeah, well…you've never apologized to me in our entire relationship."

Rosalie's mother smirked briefly before turning back to her daughter. She enveloped Rose's warming hand within her own, and gave it a kind kiss, "Doesn't she look peaceful?"  
"Are we looking at the same person?" Aro watched as James leaned against his sister and rested his head upon her chest, finding comfort in the beating of her heart, "Look at her Lil!" Most of her body is shielded by gauze, bandages and/or Band-Aids. The skin that is visible is covered in dark bruises. The hospital gown she is wearing reveals her slender legs and the major and minor scrapes and lashes that are embedded on them.  
"This was not how this day was supposed to go," James whispered as his head remained pressed against her chest, "I worked my ass off and the things I've seen were just horrific. This town was supposed to be my safe haven, and now that's ruined. Regardless of whether or not Rosalie comes out of the coma, how are we supposed to go on and face everyone in this town knowing that one of them did this?" The older brother lifted his head and gazed down at his sister's face, "This was a passion crime! No one just physically beats up a young woman just for fun! Someone had something against her and that someone had to be close enough to her, to US, to get her alone without suspicion!" The anger in his voice surpassed the sadness in it, "Shoplifting and littering are the only crimes we have here, besides that one time," he took a side glance at Aro, "you know, but we don't have crime like this! And the one time someone decides to commit a vicious act, it's against her!"

Lillian rose from her seat and walked around her daughter's bed. She pulled her son to his feet, and wrapped him in her arms, "I know sweetie." The brief moment was cut off by a young nurse entering the room, "Hello Mrs. King, James," she gulped as she quickly glanced at Rosalie's father, "Aro."  
"Hello Elizabeth," Lily greeted, stepping back from her son.  
"Wow," the young nurse whispered, slowly approaching Rosalie's bedside, "I couldn't believe it when I heard. It's scary isn't it?  
Aro stepped towards the woman, "What do you want?"  
"Oh, right. I'm here to fully examine Rosalie."  
"I thought she was already examined," Lillian took a protective stance beside her daughter.  
"I'm here to inspect her for evidence of the sexual assault."  
Lillian grabbed her daughter's warm hand, "Can't we wait until she wakes up?"  
"We don't know when or if that will happen and if there is evidence, we want to get it before it goes away or becomes inadmissible." Elizabeth held out the clipboard of paperwork towards the parents, "I just need your consent."  
"This feels wrong!" Lillian cried out as Elizabeth set the kit down into Lillian's empty seat, "Can't she catch a breath? She's already been violated once."  
Elizabeth pulled on a pair of latex gloves, "It might be better for her mentally that she's out. She won't even know."

Lillian felt a tear drop off of her face and land onto the consent form. She didn't feel like she had the right to sign off. She wasn't Rosalie's only parent. The blonde mother looked up to meet Aro's eyes, and when his head slowly nodded, she signed her name across the page.

* * *

After pacing for an endless amount of time, Alice flopped down into the seat beside her boyfriend. Her face was red, and her eyes were dry and puffy. She took a hold of his hand, and squeezed onto it in reassurance, "What's taking so long? I really want to see her!"  
"Her parents and brother are taking their time with her," Jasper reminded, pulling her hand up towards his mouth in order to give it a gentle peck, "Can you blame them? I just…I just can't imagine that any of this happened in the first place."

Emmett's nails dug into the fabric of his jeans, "I was supposed to be with her." He looked up, and his sodden eyes met those of his closest friends, "When her father dropped her off at home, she and her mother were supposed to head into town to buy a few welcome-home decorations for James. She asked me to pick her up and run her because her mother postponed and James would have been home any minute. I said no. I couldn't," Emmett abruptly stood from his seat and kicked the chair, "because of stupid football practice! I _ditched_ my girlfriend for _football practice_! I didn't even have the car. My parents picked me up afterwards…and then that's when we found out." His fist clenched and mustering up as much strength as possible, he slammed it down onto the cushioned chair, "DAMN IT!"

Alice pulled her hand out of her boyfriend's hold. Rose wouldn't blame him. It wasn't his fault…how could he have possibly known? Alice rose from her seat and pulled her best friend into her arms, "You're not responsible."  
"You all may think that," he pulled out of her arms, "but I know the truth. If I would have just agreed, this probably wouldn't have even happened."  
Alice crossed her arms irritatingly, "If it's your fault, then it's my fault too. Rose asked me to come with her," She looked at Bella, "I was too busy with Bella at the ice cream parlor. While Bella and I were getting ice cream, Rose was getting attacked!"  
"I was the last to see her before all of this," Jasper slowly raised his hand to gain everyone's attention, "If anyone is to blame, it's me. My dad was about to head into work. I was…I was napping. We got into an argument because she thought no one cared that her brother was returning from the military. Her mother postponed, and she realized by the time Lillian was going to make it home, James will already be back. She said you, Emmett and Bella didn't have time and Edward wouldn't even answer his phone. Whoever did this, didn't pick her up, at least not from her house," Everyone looked up at him in befuddlement, "the store was like two or three miles away. She chose to walk."

**-Tiffany.**


	4. Bound By Silence

Lillian entered the private room her daughter's friends were currently waiting in. She dried her eyes with the back of her hands as the door closed behind her. Each teenager slowly rose from their seats, as Alice moved towards her best friend's mother, "What's wrong? Is Rose okay?"  
"As okay as she can be," Lillian shrugged as Emmett rose to offer her his seat, "Oh, no sweetheart. I won't be in here long, I've just come to say that there's a lot of hospital paperwork that me and Aro have to fill out. James is running to the house to drop off his belongings, and I really don't want her to be alone…at least," she wiped away her falling tears once again, "not right now just in case she wakes up. To get to the point, I just came to let you all know that you can go back there now if you want."  
Alice stood, "Of course."  
"Thank you Alice, you were always a good friend to her," She gave her daughter's closest friend a hug.  
"Don't mention it Lillian. She's the Thelma to my Louise."  
Lillian gave the teenager a brief smile, "Aro's waiting for me at the reception desk. She's in room 142."

As Alice stared at the inconsolable mother, her heart started to ache for her. She knew Lillian's emotions and thoughts were probably all over the place. Lillian wanted to be here for her daughter, but at the same time she wanted to be helping the police. She wanted to grieve and cry, but she also needed to be strong for her family. It was a no-win situation, and Alice wanted to do something…anything to help.

Alice studied Lillian's face, and the sad look of the older woman tugged at her core. She exasperatedly grabbed her boyfriend's hand, and pulled him forward, "Tell her what you told us." Lillian pushed strands of hair behind her ear, as Jasper nodded before speaking, "I was the last to see Rose before she was attacked."  
This sparked Lillian's curiosity as she pushed him to continue, "So you saw who did this? Why didn't you tell your father? I need to get Aro! We need to call your father so he-"  
"I didn't see who attacked her," he interrupted, taking a hold of her upper arms to keep her tranquil, "She wasn't picked up, at least not from in front of your house. Rose decided to walk to the store."  
"But…I thought the person who did this picked her up from our house. This…this changes everything."  
Alice stepped forward, "How?"  
"That could possibly mean that anyone could have done this." Lillian's chin trembled as tears started to stream out of her eyes, "Anyone could have driven pass her. Anyone could have grabbed her and attacked her. If they picked her up from my house that at least means the person knew where she lived…but now it just seems like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Edward looked back and forth between Alice and Lillian, "Are you saying what if someone was driving through our town and attacked her?" Mrs. King nodded at his question, before he continued, "She wouldn't have gotten in their car."  
"Who says she wasn't forced?" The troubled mother retorted.  
"I doubt that," Emmett shook his head, as he interjected himself into the conversation, "Whoever attacked her had something against her."  
"Great, now we're right back where we started."

Alice felt horrible. She thought the information Jasper had would give Lillian a little hope. Hope that they were one step closer to finding the culprit, however it didn't work. Lillian didn't want to entertain the subject anymore. She gave the small group a simple wave before heading out.  
"I screwed up."  
Bella rolled her eyes, "Nice going Alice."  
"Let's go," Edward extended his hand towards his girlfriend.  
"I don't think I can go in there," Bella shook her head and pushed his hand away from her.  
Alice's arms crossed over her chest, "And why not?"  
"I can't see her like that!"

Alice looked over her shoulder to see if anyone else wanted to respond. As each person avoided eye contact with her, she chose to continue. "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices Bella!" She leaned forward and grabbed the girl's wrist, "You're coming!" The petite Brandon pulled Bella to her feet.  
"Do you think I want to be here?!" Bella screamed, ripping her wrist out of Alice's hold.  
Jasper rose, "Do you think any of us want to be here, including Rosalie?"  
"That isn't fair! Don't do that?"  
"What isn't fair is the fact that you're willing to ditch a friend in her time of need!" Alice hollered from the top of her lungs, "What isn't fair is that this happened to Rose! What isn't fair is the fact that we're having this conversation!" She shoved the tip of Bella's shoulder, "I've always known you were selfish, but if you don't go back there, it just proves it!"  
"You have no-"  
"QUIET!"

Bella and Alice turned to face the doorway and spotted James fuming under the threshold of the door. He gently closed the door behind him, before turning to face his sister's friends, "Really? Rose falls into a coma, and this is how her friends act. She doesn't need this, so if you can't get your act together, maybe you all don't need to see her."  
"James, I'm sorry."  
"Alice, don't worry about it," he gave her a modest smile, "but if you all are going back there, go back there. Don't waste time and argue when someone could be sitting at her bedside. Aro and my mom are doing paperwork, and it won't take all night. Once it's over, they'll be back in her room. I suggest you all go and get as much time with her as possible." His sister's closest friend nodded her head and took a hold of her boyfriend's hand, "And if you're all going in there to continue this argument, save it. Just go home and spare my sister the extra stress." James didn't say another word; he turned on his heel and exited the private room. He had just gotten back from running to his mother's house to find Rosalie's 'closest' friends arguing over whether or not they wanted to see her. To say it pissed him off would be an understatement.

During the quest down the hallway, Emmett scanned each room number. In his search for room 142, he ignored the nervous breathing of Bella. She held her stomach in uneasiness, "I feel nauseous. I'm not good in hospitals."  
"Suck it up," Alice growled, taking a lead as she sped up her walk down the hallway.

The assembly of friends abruptly stopped in front of room 142. Nurse Elizabeth departed from Rosalie's room, protectively holding a kit in her hand, "Oh, kids. Hey, how are you doing?"  
"Considering…" Emmett drifted off, gazing off towards his girlfriend's room.  
Elizabeth pouted sadly, "Oh right. Sorry!"  
"What's that?" Alice pointed towards the kit Elizabeth held tightly in her arms.  
"Rape kit," Elizabeth answered with haste before awkwardly taking off down the hallway.

Each friend silently stared at the engraved numbers of 142. They couldn't see inside, but they somewhat knew what to expect; a catatonic Rosalie. Alice took the lead in front of her friend group, and quickly pushed the door open. A nurse was present at Rosalie's bedside, inserting some sort of tube into the injured teenager's nose.

As soon as Bella's eyes landed on her comatose friend, she couldn't help but turn on her heel and run out of the room. Her feet couldn't get her to a trashcan fast enough, and as a result she leaned over and hurled her afternoon lunch onto the pristine floor. She felt a hand rub against her back, "Are you okay?"  
"I need to go home," Bella glanced at her boyfriend.  
"Okay, you go to the bathroom and clean up. I'll go find the janitor and then get Marcus to see if he can run us home."

Alice shut the door, and grunted angrily, "She's not coming back…and neither is Edward."  
"More Rose for us then," Emmett gave a small smile, before approaching his girlfriend, "What exactly are you doing?" He watched the nurse carefully insert a tube into Rosalie's nostrils.  
He didn't answer Rosalie's boyfriend right away. As a result, Jasper, Emmett and Alice slowly approached him so they could look at exactly what he was doing to their friend, "That looks like it hurts." Alice craned her neck in order to take a closer look.  
"She can't feel it," Nurse Eric responded, his gloved hands continually lowered the tube further down her nostrils, "Almost done."  
"Why do you have to do that?"  
"Give me a second."

As Eric finished up, he delicately secured it in place, and wrapped the excess tubing behind her ears. The young RN pulled a syringe out of his nurse's scrubs, and carefully injected the liquid into the tube, "Before you ask again, I just inserted a feeding tube in her. Now, I'm feeding her the nutrients that she needs. I'll do this every few hours, and because this tubing isn't permanent, I'll have to change it every few days." Eric pulled off his medical gloves and disposed of them in the trashcan near the door, "If anything changes, press that button," He pointed across the room, "Now, she's all yours." The young nurse exited the hospital room.

The chair Lillian occupied earlier in the day was still positioned next to her bed. Emmett took a hold of the seat, as Jasper pulled up two chairs on the opposite side of Rosalie. He and Alice sat down, and both shared her left hand. "Be careful of the IV," Jasper warned, examining the needle sticking out the back of her hand.

The three friends found a comfort in the beeping sound of the multiple monitors plugged up to the young Hale. Her eyes were closed and her form resembled that of a sleeping girl. She looked gentle and peaceful, and her face was growing with color. The pale complexion that Rosalie once occupied was fading away, and her tone was starting to grow normal and healthy. If it wasn't for the unconscious state, the multiple IVS, the bruising, bandages and the beeping machines, they would have thought she was just in a deep sleep.  
"This is weird," Alice ran her fingers along her best friend's opened palm, "Rose is the strongest person I know…and to see her like this," her voice betrayed her as it easily broke, "Her face, her neck, her arms, her legs…even her hands have bruises! And now this…this guy gets to live his life and go about his day, while she's stuck in a coma! How is that fair?!"  
Emmett pressed his lips to Rosalie's hand, "It's not. Even though I wasn't there, I keep picturing myself present. It's like I'm watching her get attacked, call out our names, but there's nothing I can do."  
"You know," Alice rose to her feet, never once breaking off contact with Rose's hand, "this room is a little dull," she gave it a once over, "but as your best friend, it is my duty to brighten it up!"

The sudden twitch of a hand caused for Alice to quickly glance down at her boyfriend. At the same time, Jasper hastily looked up at her. The two made eye contact, before feeling another twitch, "Was that-"  
"No," Jasper shook his head frantically.  
"Emmett, her hand moved!"

Alice's words pulled the desperate boyfriend to his feet. He closed in the distance between himself and her hospital bed, "Alice, get your dad!" She released Rosalie's hand as Emmett leaned over his girlfriend, "Babe? Babe, can you hear me? If you can hear me, open up those beautiful eyes." There was no response or movement, but Emmett was determined. He set his hands gently down upon her shoulders, "Or you can just nod your head? Just give me a sign that you're waking up…that you can hear me."

The door opened within seconds after Alice's departure. Her father rushed into the room, with Alice, Lillian, Aro and James following closely behind. Dr. Brandon leaned over an unconscious Rosalie, and pried open her eyes. He shined a low light and inspected her pupils, "Rosalie…Hey, can you hear me?" Jeremy pulled away, and checked the monitors. He applied pressure to various parts of her body, before turning back to the family, "She's still in her coma."  
"We felt her squeeze our hand," Alice exclaimed, pacing back and forth, "Both Jasper and I felt it."  
Jeremy turned off his flashlight, "Those are just reflexes. Comatose patients may experience hand twitching, eye movement…just reflexes in general. It's normal…but it's also a good sign."  
"She's not waking up?" Lillian cried out, looking back and forth between Alice and the doctor.  
"…not yet."  
Alice stepped towards her best friend's mother, "Lillian I'm so sor-"  
"Save it," Lillian growled, allowing the door to slam shut behind her.

Aro said nothing as he followed his ex-wife out of the room. If Alice felt horrible before, now she feels worse. James set a hand upon her shoulder, "She's not mad at you…she's just mad at the situation."  
"You have to keep faith." Jeremy wrapped his arms around his daughter, "We've known Rosalie all her life, and she's strong. She'll overcome this." He pecked her forehead, before following James out of the room.

Emmett flopped down into his previously occupied seat. He pulled his hand out of Rosalie's hold, and rested his elbows upon the edge of her bed, "I hate this." His face felt shielded and composed as he laid it into his opened palms, "It's Saturday. It's our junior year." Some of his words were muffled, but it didn't stop him from speaking, "And Rose is stuck here. Then when Monday comes around-"  
"This is the plan Rose," All sounds of anguish and grief disappeared from her voice. This wasn't like her, but Rosalie managed to bring that side out. She scooted onto the edge of the bottom of the uncomfortable hospital bed, "After church tomorrow, I'll be back. I'm going to bring pictures, your favorite books and I'll even bring my diary. You can read it if you wake up," Alice happily nudged Rosalie's injured legs, but there was no response. "What if I threaten to bring yours?" No reply. "You know I wouldn't do that," Her voice lowered back to its saddening tone, "I won't be able to visit you on weekdays. I have school and then work, and by the time I get off, visiting hours will be over," Jasper and Emmett nodded to guiltily agree with her statement, "but, you can count on me spending my weekends here!"

Alice pushed herself to her feet and eyed the small opened space in the hospital bed. Her petite form was tempted to crawl in with her best friend, just like they always did, but the sight of the multiple wires and IVs connected to Rose changed her mind. Before the seventeen year old could continue debating on a way to get closer to her best friend, her cell phone started ringing.  
"It's my mom," She pressed the phone against her ear, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I meant to…things just got busy. She's in a coma. Yeah," Alice slowly started to walk towards the door, "I know. I'm trying to keep it together. It just isn't fair. Mom, why her?" Her voice faded out as the door closed behind her.

Emmett rose from his seat and saw Jasper's head lying down onto the thin mattress of the hospital bed. Rosalie's boyfriend leaned over, and ran his fingers gently down upon the bandage wrapped around her skull. "Blood," he whispered, as his fingers scratched at the dry blood embedded into her hair, "They didn't take any mercy on you, did they?" Emmett knew she wasn't going to answer, but he continued anyway, "You would be so embarrassed if you saw yourself right now," he snickered to himself before becoming serious once again, "Who could do something like this?"  
"A psychopath," Jasper lifted his head to answer, "a coward…an asshole."  
"People in this town don't exactly fit that description."  
Jasper casually fiddled with the sheet rested underneath his friend, "Besides Royce and his father…"  
"Yeah, well," Emmett continued to gently scratch the dried blood out of his girlfriend's hair, "they weren't even born in this town. Remember Royce Sr., his first wife and Royce Jr. moved to town a few years before we were all born." He watched as the trickles of crusted blood fell against her white pillow, "They'll never be natives no matter how long they stay."  
"What ever happened to her?" Jasper decided to stand and help Emmett.

While the bandage prevented them from scratching off most of the blood, they decided to at least scratch off the visible stains. Emmett gave his friend a dimpled smirk, "I think she left town. There have been a lot of rumors. Some say that she left Royce for another man. Some say that she just died. I've even heard a rumor about her joining the circus that visited years ago."  
"I just got off of the phone with my mom and I filled her in about everything." Alice whispered, slowly closing the door behind her as she ran in, "Apparently, the highway is blocked off. The police sought Kate and Garrett out and wanted them to lead them to where they found Rose."  
"It's dark now," Jasper glanced out of the window.  
Alice took a seat at the edge of the bed, "I know, but they don't want to take a chance and have tonight's storm wash any evidence away." Before she could continue her statement, the door was gently pushed open, and upon first glance Rosalie's step-brother entered. He was surprised to see Rosalie's closest friends visiting her.

Emmett pulled his hands away from his girlfriend and took a protective stance at the foot of her bed. His arms crossed, as his glare dug deep into Royce's soul, "What are you doing here?"  
"I brought flowers," he held up the vase.  
"Oh goodie," Alice exclaimed, taking a hold of the red roses, "They'll add some color to the room."  
"What are you really doing here?" Jasper asked skeptically, as Alice searched the room for the perfect place to set the flowers, "Everyone knows what you think of her Royce and I wouldn't be surprised if you did this," The accusation pulled Alice to a halt, "I never thought much of it until I saw you around Aro, you could barely look at him."  
"He intimidates me!" Royce retorted in defense.  
Jasper argued back, "You were surprised to see us. You were planning to sneak in here."  
"She's my step-sister! I have every right to see her!"  
"We both know that if Rosalie wasn't in this coma, you wouldn't be here! You both _hate _each other's guts!"

Emmett listened carefully as the conversation between Jasper and Royce progressed. Every local of the small town knew about the quarrels, rivalries and hatred between certain residents. And from the moment Lillian and Royce Sr. got married, the animosity that formed between Royce Jr. and Rose only festered and grew with each passing day. Even though Royce Jr. was nine years older than his step-sister, it played no part in their mutual dislike for one another.  
Royce smirked inappropriately, "I spoke to Lillian before I came in. She assumed you left and was held up at the receptionist desk," he wrapped his fingers around the railing at the end of her bed, "She granted me permission to spend time with my sister."  
"Step," Emmett corrected.  
He shrugged in response, "I hate to have to ask you all to leave, but," he released the railing and approached the side of her bed, "I really want to spend some quality time with her."  
"She's in a coma!" Alice reminded, slamming the vase down onto the windowsill, "And why would you want to see her? You two despise each other."  
"Call it atonement."  
"Atonement for what?!" Alice argued. She hated the fact that she had to leave Rosalie with someone she knew her best friend wouldn't be comfortable with.  
Royce guiltily set his hand upon her bruised forehead and smiled, "That's none of your business. Now please get out."

Jasper wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and escorted her out of the room. Following closely behind was Emmett, who couldn't help but to continually look over his shoulder. Royce stood, staring down at Rosalie's sleeping face, "Get out," he growled, sensing the three still in the room, "This is my time. You've had yours."  
"We're going." Emmett seethed, pushing the door open for his friends to exit, "Just know Royce, I don't know what you're atoning for, but if it has anything to do with her coma, you need to tell Jasper's father."  
"I can't," Royce pressed his eyes closed as he shook his head.  
"And why not?"  
He peeled open his eyes before answering, "Because I gave Lillian my word that I wouldn't tell a soul."

**-Tiffany.**


	5. Teary Eyes

The large wooden oak doors of the small church opened and out sprinkled the Sunday afternoon churchgoers. Being the only church in the small town, the building remained crowded for church services. James, Emmett, Alice and Jasper followed behind Lillian as she made her way through the exiting crowd. Aro's been with Rosalie all day and provided her with text updates, but she needed to get to the hospital in order to check on her daughter herself.  
"Lillian!" the anxious mother came to a stop as one of the ladies of the church waved her over, "I'm surprised to see you here. You haven't been to church in years."  
Lillian slowly shrugged her shoulders, "Considering what happened, it's time for me to come back."  
"How is Rose?" Jacob stepped forward, ignoring the glaring eyes of Rosalie's closest friends, "We may have a mutual dislike for each other, but for something this malicious to happen to her is just cruel."  
The exasperated mother held up her car keys, "I was just about to head back to the hospital. I stopped pass before church when visiting hours started and there's no change." She handed her keys to James in order for him to pull her car around, "It's been at least 24 hours since she's been admitted and I just figured there should be some progress…but there's nothing. Dr. Brandon said to give it at least two to three weeks, but can you blame me for my impatience?"  
"We must have just missed each other this morning. Leah, Jacob, Seth and I brought some flowers and a card by around the same time you were there. We ran into Aro, but we didn't see you."  
"Aw, that was kind of you." Lillian ignored the woman's later statement.

Mrs. King set her hand upon Sue's shoulder and gave her an appreciative smile. After slowly dropping her hand, she used the same hand to run her fingers through her loose ponytail.  
"We've known each other all our lives. It was the least we could do." Sue assured, taking a hold of Lily's hands, "Anyone would want to wake up knowing that people cared, and when Alice told us that Rose's room could use some flowers, I figured, as a florist that I could do something about it."  
Lillian glanced back quickly at Alice, "You're right Sue…maybe I'll pick up something to decorate the room."  
"Actually before I let you go, some of the church ladies and I wanted to come together and host a vigil on Friday night."  
"But Rose isn't dead," Alice remarked.  
"She doesn't have to be," Sue laughed softly, "We can use it to send prayers."  
"I would like that…a lot actually." Lillian agreed, sliding her hands out of Sue's hold.

During church, Lillian received a countless amount of apologies, condolences and prayers. While she did appreciate the gesture, it started to become repetitive. She wanted the words to stop. She was ready to have her daughter healthy and alert. Lillian gave the small family a simple smile before maneuvering through them. The crowd grew bigger as more people departed from the church. "I was looking for you!"  
Lillian sighed as she whirled around to face the familiar voice of her closest friend, "Esme."  
"Renee, Joan and I were about to head to lunch. You deserve to clear your mind, so I'm extending the invitation to you. It's our treat."  
"Thanks for the invite," Lily extended her hands and in return Esme kindly placed her palms in the hands of the doleful mother, "but I think I'll pass. I really want to get back to the hospital."  
"Of course! I was actually planning on stopping by before work tomorrow morning!"  
Mrs. King squeezed her friend's hands expectantly, "That would be great. When she wakes up, I'm sure it'll mean a lot to her that people cared enough to visit."  
"Mom," Emmett stepped forth, cutting his mother's responding thoughts off, "I'm going with Lillian to the hospital. Alice and Jasper are going too." Esme nods compassionately.

The horn of her car sounded as James pulled up, "Come on." She waved for her daughter's friends to follow. "How long did Royce visit Rose yesterday?" Alice couldn't help but ask as they walked to the car.  
Her eyes drifted off into the distance, as she pondered the answer, "…for about an hour or two."  
"That's long," Jasper retorted, opening the car door for his girlfriend to enter, "especially since he hates Rose's guts."  
"He doesn't hate her," Lillian corrected quickly.

The group piled into the car. Lillian rested in the passenger seat as her eldest child drove the vehicle to the hospital. Her daughter's closest friends sat in the back, and she could tell by the constant shifting that they felt bothered, "Alright, what is it? If you have something to ask, ask it."  
"Royce said he was visiting Rose for atonement. Why?"

Emmett took in the look on Lillian's face. He noted every furrowed brow, every look of recognition and worry, and her upper teeth biting down onto her lower lip. She portrayed the very look of a nervous individual. Lillian sat forward, and stared straight, "It's not for the reason you all would think."  
"If he did this to Rose-"  
"He didn't!" The sound of her voice caught everyone off guard. She didn't mean to cut Alice off, but it had to be said. She habitually blinked before taking an unusually long, deep breath, "You all know if I knew who did that to my child, I would go straight to the police. No questions about it. And I can honestly say that Royce Jr. didn't do this."  
"What was he atoning for?" Jasper restated Emmett's earlier question.  
"That's between him and Rosalie!"  
Alice doubtfully crossed her arms, "then why did he imply that you knew?"

A single tear rolled down Lillian's cheek as her eyes focused on the passing scenery. The town wasn't big, and the route to the hospital was pretty quick, but for some odd reason, this ride felt longer. She spotted her son's arm resting on the armrest, and chose to wrap her arm around his, "Jasper, did you tell your father what you told me yesterday?"  
"Yes."  
She was clearly avoiding the elephant in the room, and everyone knew it. "What did he say? What does he think?"  
"He said that it opens the doors to a wider pool of suspects," Jasper's face fell as he continued, "and then he warned me against looking into Rosalie's case. He said he knows me, and he doesn't want me trying to piece things together. It's not my job, it's his."  
"He's right," Lillian gave the three teenagers in the backseat a serious nod. She removed her hand from around her son's arm.

The remainder of the ride was filled with silence. James fingers tapping along the steering wheel provided a low sound within the car, sparking Lillian to turn up the radio. The surrounding trees disrupted the radio frequency, but she preferred to hear the scratching sounds of the radio trying to connect than the drumming beat of her son's hands.

The small-town hospital was hardly ever crowded. While doctors remained on staff, the patients always consisted of the Forks' elderly. The town's worst emergencies consisted of heart attacks, allergic reactions and broken bones to which the hospital was prepared to treat. Rosalie was the first in Forks history to come into their small and unprepared hospital in her condition. From the few scattered around hospital staff, Lillian could tell it was another slow day. Her daughter was probably the most excitement they've had since starting work at Forks General.

As Emmett held the hospital room door open for his girlfriend's mother to enter, her eyes failed to land on her daughter because of Aro's pacing. His fingers were intertwined in the back of his dark hair, and the speed of his pacing quickened Lillian's heartrate. She ran to her daughter's side, "What's wrong?" Lily gave her daughter a once over in order to inspect her to the best of her ability, "Is it Rose?"  
"I just had a word with Commissioner Whitlock over the phone. First," he gruffly stops pacing and turns to glare at Jasper, "Why didn't you tell me that you saw her leaving the house?" Aro briefly pulls his eyes away from Jasper in order to face his ex-wife, "And secondly, I just found out that the incompetent officers are nowhere near close to solving our daughter's case!" His voice grows to a higher volume as he races up to his daughter's side, opposite of Lillian, "They don't know where she was thrown into the lake, only where Garrett found her! They don't even know where she was attacked in the first place!" His fingers dug into the white sheet covering his daughter's bruised legs, "They know nothing!"  
"It's only been 24 hours," Lillian calmly stated, resting her hand on top of Aro's, "I have faith. We have a small police force. They need time," She slowly and carefully turned her enraged ex-husband to face her, separating the contact between them and their daughter, "I'm here now, and I know you've been with her all day-"  
Aro interrupted with his booming voice, "If you're going to tell me I can leave, then you're just as foolish as the town's police officers."  
"I won't tell you to leave then," Lillian pulled away from him, and took this opportunity to look around the hospital room. She already noticed Alice completely engulfed by the beautiful colors and aromas, "Wow, who brought in all of these flowers?"  
Aro calmly answered, "Everyone who stopped pass. By this time, everyone in the town knows."

Lillian exhaustively took a seat in the chair Aro pulled up to the side of Rose's bed. She rested her hand along her daughter's lower arm, "Who has come to visit since I left for church?"  
"Besides my brothers, Sue, and her children," Aro silently thought to himself, "Lauren, Royce Sr. and Joan came."  
Alice fiddled with the promise ring around her finger, "My mom stopped by?"  
"Yes, and Jessica, Mike, Garrett, Kate and Carlisle came in to check on her with Jeremy."  
"That's so sweet," Lillian patted her daughter's arm gently, "You hear that Rose? All of those people came to visit you."  
"And a bunch of Rose's high school classmates made those posters," Aro pointed to the once empty and bare wall that was now lined with decorative drawings and posters.

The door to room 142 opened, and Dr. Brandon stepped into the now brightly lit and colorful area. The last time he checked on Rosalie was early in the morning before any visitors stopped by. He came in with Nurse Eric to check her vitals as Eric fed her through the feeding tube.  
"I have something to tell you," he forced eye contact with Rosalie's parents, "And we need to limit the visitors. Three at a time please."

Before anyone responded, the three friends silently gave their comatose friend a hopeful look before stepping out of the room. Brady stood at the end of the hall, notebook and pen in hand as he scribbled down the information Laurent was telling him.  
"Dad," Jasper rushed over to his father, "Why are you questioning Laurent?"  
"He was on shift at the party supply store the day of Rosalie's attack. Now let me do my job," Brady answered, before turning back to the apprehensive man, "anyway, please go on. Did Rosalie ever make it to the store?"  
"No," his fingers drummed along the sequence of his pants leg as he answered.  
Commissioner Whitlock gave Laurent's shoulder a gentle pinch, "Thanks. That's all I needed from you. You can go visit your grandmother. Tell Ms. Shirley I said to watch her blood pressure. It'll kill her one day."  
"Will do," Laurent released a loud sigh as he smiled in relief.

Brady set the notepad onto the receptionist desk and continued writing down his memorized notes. He was no further in the investigation, and his lack of detective skills began to show. The trio slid up next to him, "Dad, remember when you said that no evidence was found at the scene where Rosalie was dumped?" Brady nods. "Well, I had time to think. When you were outside in the forest searching-"  
"What did I tell you about trying to work my case?"  
"Dad I-"  
Mr. Whitlock interrupts again, "I'm serious Jasper. Leave the investigating to me. And before continuing with your answer, I didn't go out to search, it's one of the benefits of being the police commissioner. I sent a small team out," Brady casually smirked, "You know I hate to get dirty."

Jasper was prepared for a follow-up statement that surrounded the idea of telling his father to get over himself, go out there and search for himself, but a hospital alert rang out. Nurses Elizabeth, Eric and Lauren rushed down the hospital corridor with Dr. Cullen following closely behind. The sharp turn into room 142 caused for the breath in their throats to hitch.  
"You shouldn't go."

Brady's words were ignored as Emmett led his friends down the hallway. Emmett pushed open the door and took in the chaotic scene around him. Lillian was on her knees, covering her face, murmuring something about the world around her crashing. James was at the foot of his sister's bed, watching and listening to the doctors and nurses shout vital information. Aro's hands shook against his sides, as his eyes focused in on the trio, "Something's wrong!"  
"What's happening?" Alice rushed up to James's side.  
"We need to perform an emergency tracheostomy!" Dr. Brandon ordered, as he pressed his hand against her neck, "She's stopped breathing." Carlisle raced over with the required tools to perform the needed surgery, "I need for everyone to get out. Let us do our jobs."  
"You have to save her," Lillian cried out, as Emmett pulled the inconsolable mother out of the room.

Once the family and closest friends of Rosalie exited room 142, Lillian pressed her back against the wall. She began to deep breath, as she forced her eyes to focus forward, "This cannot be happening."  
"What did my dad have to tell you?" Alice cut straight to the point.  
Lily covered her face as the tears continued to pour out of her eyes, "Alice please."  
"What did he have to say about Rose?!"  
Her raised voice caught each and every one of them off guard. Alice calmed herself and leaned against the wall next to her best friend's mother. No one could blame her for her agitated state. This was Rosalie they were talking about…not some random person.  
"It was about the rape kit." James spoke up, giving the back of his head a defeated rub.  
Emmett looked between each face, "Did they run tests? Do we know who did this?"  
"No," Aro answered.  
Jasper rubbed his temples in order to keep himself calm, "Then what about the rape kit?!"  
"No one can seem to find it!"

**Read and Review!**

**-Tiffany.**


	6. Bad Blood

The words of Alice's math teacher went through one ear and out of the other as the young Brandon began to think about the scary events of yesterday. Rosalie temporarily stopped breathing. She's still in a coma. And now instead of a normal mouth breathing tube, that was removed and a tube had to be inserted through her neck in order to guarantee that she wouldn't stop breathing again. While all of that was going on in room 142, out in the halls shouts of confusion and irritation erupted from the information they've learned about the disappearance of the rape kit. Apparently, it was misplaced and just disappeared. If it wasn't for Aro trying to attack Elizabeth –whose job it was to watch and guard the kit until it could be shipped out- then she would have stayed to see Rose, but the added stress, pressure and tension forced Dr. Brandon to kick most of them out of the hospital. And by the time Rosalie was ready for visitors again, it was a few minutes until visitation time was over. The brief seconds Lillian saw of her daughter broke her heart. Most of her coloring that she gained in the last 24 hours was now gone again. The bruises looked pretty much the same and the added breathing tube in her neck made Rosalie's diagnosis seem worse than one would assume.

Her eyes blinked out of her reverie at the ringing of the school bell. She gathered her books, rose from her seat and made her way out of the classroom. "Alice!" She could hear her name being shouted from across the hall. The junior classman approached her locker and input her locker combination, "Yes Emily?"  
"We heard what happened to Rosalie Sunday night." Alice turned to face the head-cheerleader, "My mom is assisting Sue in the vigil this Friday, and I'm in charge of purchasing the candles. What is Rosalie's favorite color?"  
Alice set her books inside, "It's red."  
"Thanks," Emily gave the junior an assuring smile before walking off.

As the third day of Rosalie's coma ticked on by, the overwhelming urge to punch something simmered within Emmett. He carried himself along the hallways of his high school in the hopes that something, anything would offer up a good distraction. Football didn't work. Classes weren't working. Even a short session with the high school guidance counselor –his mom- wasn't working. All he could do was hope that his job after school would offer a good distraction.

When the sharp impact of the football hit against his stomach, he tore out of his thoughts. Tyler's arms were in the air as the ball fell to the ground. "Man, I tried to warn you." Tyler laughed as he ran over to pick up the ball, "You're usually more alert than this."  
"I'm distracted," he asserted, rubbing the sore spot on his six-pack.  
Tyler set the ball down, "Yeah man, I didn't want to bring that up, but since we're talking about it. How is she?"  
"There has been no change since yesterday."  
"Are you going to the vigil this Friday?" Tyler lifted the ball back up and passed it to Eleazar as he walked pass, "I know I'll be there, and my dad recruited me to cite a prayer for her."  
"She needs all the prayers she can get."  
"Anything for my buddy's girl," Tyler patted the shoulder of his good friend.

By the end of the school day, a whole range of people have talked to Jasper in this one day than they have since all of their years living in Forks. Rosalie was your average popular girl. She was a cheerleader who dated the quarterback of the football team. She was kind and she occasionally volunteered at the animal clinic where her mother worked. No one at the high school could fathom such a heinous crime being committed against her.

Before heading into work, Jasper had to make a run home. It was always the hardest when he got off of the school bus alone. The bus stop was usually where he and Rose got off together, and then they bid a see you later to one another before walking into their separate houses. Jasper spotted Royce Sr. outside having a passionate conversation with his father. He could only assume this had to do with Rosalie, and the fact that there have been no updates on the case. Commissioner Whitlock gave his son a wave as he watched him enter their house.

Jasper grabbed a change of clothes since he worked at the town's small library with Bella. He always looked forward to changing out of his school's uniform into something more casual, but today, of all days, the library was hosting bible study and he needed to dress up in formal attire.  
"Dad!' Jasper shouted out of the window, "I need to borrow a tie."

While Commissioner Whitlock made no motion to indicate that he heard his son, Jasper didn't care. He was already running late for work. He buttoned his shirt, zipped up his pants, and raced into his father's room, "Where are the ties?" He scanned his dad's closet, "Ew, what is this?" At the sight of a pile of dried mud, Jasper frowned, "Huh?" He pulled out the source of the dirt, "My dad's boots."_ I didn't go out to search; it's one of the benefits of being the police commissioner. I sent a small team out. You know I hate to get dirty._ He broke out of his flashback as he heard the front door open and out of panic he set the boots back down where he found them.  
"Did you find the tie?"  
Jasper jumped at the sudden arrival of his father, "No. I decided to go without one."

Rosalie was on a strict no-visitors list. After visiting hours yesterday, Dr. Brandon and Dr. Cullen felt it was in her best interest to get some rest. If she were to remain in the coma by Saturday, then they would take her off the list. Because his days were usually spent seeing and/or talking to his daughter, Aro didn't know what to do. He went to the auto shop with Marcus in order to attempt to fix a few cars, but it only angered him. When his daughter wasn't at the animal clinic or school, she came down and worked at her Uncle Marcus's auto repair shop. Everything she learned about cars, she picked up from her dad.

Every minute of the day, Aro is tempted to pick up the phone and call his daughter. While he's done it a few times –and received her voicemail- he realized that it only made him feel worse. He listened to an automated recording of her voice because she was unable to pick up. The icy beer in his hand turned his palm cold. He brought the bottle up to his lips, and took a small sip, "I'm not going into work today."  
"You can't just mope around Aro," Marcus pleaded, pulling the oil rag out of his pocket, "Rose would want you to come to the shop and do some repairs. She wouldn't want you pouting and sulking," the giggles on the television pulled in Marcus attention, "and she definitely wouldn't want you watching home videos of her all day."  
Aro took another sip of his beer, "She wouldn't want the asshole who put her in the hospital roaming around free either, but we all don't get what we want."

Aro was convicted and put in prison when his daughter was seven, and by the age of fifteen, he was released. During his incarceration, he wrote to her every day, called her once a week, and once a month one of his brothers would bring her down to the state's penitentiary. It allowed for him to remain close and in his daughter's life.  
"I've only been out of prison for two years," Aro spoke up, setting his empty beer bottle down, "and I tried to stay knowledgeable about my daughter's life, but I can't know and see everything. While I was away," Aro stood up and retrieved another beer from the fridge, "did you notice anyone take a liking to Rosalie? Did anyone take a disliking to her?"  
"The only thing I know that happened during your incarceration is when Emmett and Rose started dating, and that was only a few months before you were released-"  
"And?" Aro pushed on.  
"Rose is the sweetest kid I know," Marcus smiled as he thought of his niece, "She's like a daughter to me…and we've grown close, but you have to realize that just because we see her in this beautiful and innocent light, doesn't mean she's faultless and perfect."

Before Aro was able to sit down, he slammed his unopened beer down onto the end table. He turned to face his older brother, and approached him at an unreasonably fast rate, "Are you saying that what happened to her is partially her fault?"  
"No!" Marcus quickly corrected. He shook his head to back up his statement. "What I am saying is, we all have our enemies or people we don't like, including your daughter. Look, I'll cover your shift, you stay here and," his eyes were drawn back onto the television as a six year old Rosalie and her father picked petals off of flowers, "watch home videos."

Aro couldn't argue with that. He lifted his beer, flopped down into his seat and nodded his head. Every other hour he would give the towns police a call, but there was no answer. Every minute, he would shoot Dr. Brandon a text, but he hardly got replies. If it wasn't for the calming sound of his daughter's prepubescent voice on his television screen, he would have driven to both locations and demanded some type of answer. He needed to know something…anything. All his mind could think of is the last time he saw her.

Rose was rushing him. He smiled at the thought of her trying to hurry him along. Aro had to drop her off and then get back to work. They both were in a rush, but it didn't stop them from joking around on the way to her house. When he pulled outside of her house, he didn't want to say goodbye, but he knew he'll always see her later. She had a surprise for her brother coming back to town. Aro laughed at the sight of his overwhelmed and excited daughter. She hopped out of his car at the same time Royce Jr. left out of his house. The two shared a look.

Aro broke out of his memory at the recollection. Royce Jr. and Rosalie shared a look…a predacious look, a look of loathing and dislike. Royce Jr. was leaving at the time Rosalie arrived home. After Aro left, it was a possibility the young King didn't leave, he could have waited for his daughter…and once she was alone- He didn't want to think about the rest. Aro grabbed the remote, put the home video on pause, and rose to his feet, "CAIUS!"

His younger brother appeared in front of him within seconds, "I need you to take me to Lillian's house."  
"Why?" Caius hesitantly pulled out his keys.  
"I need to speak to Royce Jr."  
Caius grabbed his brother's forearm and prevented him from walking to the door, "You smell like beer. You sure you don't want to sober up first?"  
"No," Aro ripped his arm from his brother's hold, "I need you to take me to the Kings' house because I need to question Royce Jr. over his dislike for my daughter…your niece…your only niece…the one that is in the hospital because someone _raped _and brutally _beat _her to the brink of death." The two brothers briefly shared a look. Caius didn't need to hear anything else; he grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch, "Let's go!"

Caius knew what his brother was capable of, and while he was never surprised at the extremes Aro would go for the ones he loved, it did startle him this time. His brother heatedly beat at the red door of the Kings' home; all the while neighbors nervously peeked through the curtains of their windows. He spotted Jasper exiting his home and walking down the front lawn of his house, "Caius, what's going on?"  
"Stay back Jasper," the younger brother of Aro warned.

Caius wanted answers just as badly as Aro did, which was part of the reason why he didn't put up much argument, but as he watched the growing rage behind his brother's eyes, he soon started to regret it. Every fiber of his being wanted for no one to be home, but as the front door opened, revealing a befuddled Royce Sr. he knew that it was too late.  
"Where's your son?" Aro growled, struggling to peek over the older man's shoulder. At the sight of the younger King drinking water from a glass, something within Aro ignited forcing his feet to move forward and his body to pounce onto the unsuspecting twenty-six year old. The glass of water shattered against the wall as Royce Jr's legs were taken out from under him.

His back painfully hit against the ground and before he could process the attack, Aro's fists began to punch against his face one after the other. Shouts of protests sounded throughout the house, but nothing tore Aro away from his quest. As blood began to gush out of Royce's nose, Aro finally chose to speak –while maintaining the rhythmic of punches,- "Did you think you would get away with it?!"  
"Get off of him!" Lillian screamed in a panic, "Caius, get your brother!"

Caius shoved a stunned Royce Sr. to the side in order to race into the house. He gripped his older brother by the shoulders and pulled him off a battered and bloodied Royce Jr. His father's position near the door remained, as he apprehensively looked back and forth between his wife and his son. Lillian's cries rose at the sight of her step-son's face, "You are CRAZY!" her son raced into the living room, "Oh my goodness! Just what the hell do you think you're doing Aro?!" she lowered herself next to her step-son, "James, can you bring me an ice pack?"

The arms of Caius remained pressed against his brother. He could feel his older sibling's pulse race, he noticed the beads of sweat sprinkling down his face and Caius spotted the irate red face of an emotional father. For a few seconds, Aro pressed his hands over his face, but moments later, they dropped, "I'm getting the bastard that attacked our daughter!" He eyed the aching groan of Royce as the icepack made contact with his face, "How does it feel to be vulnerable Royce? You couldn't defend yourself…just like she couldn't, how does that feel?"  
Lillian set the icepack in James' hand, "You got out of prison two years ago Aro," she slowly rose to her feet, "Do not get sent back!"  
"Don't you get it?! I don't care what happens to me!"  
"Well you should," she managed to temporarily lower her voice as a look of sympathy flashed through her eyes, "When Rose wakes up, she's going to need you."  
Royce struggled to peel open his swelling eyes, "I'm innocent." At the weakened murmur of the mayor's son, Aro shoved his brother off of him and he pushed Lillian away from him as he stormed towards the injured man.

Aro's fingers nearly ripped the collar around Royce's shirt as he lifted him from the carpeted floor, "If I find out that you had anything to do with this," everyone could hear the fabric of Royce's collar slowly ripping apart, "I will kill you."  
"I didn't do anything," Royce coughed. Drippings of blood splattered around his chin.  
The face of Aro was mere inches from Royce. He stared into the blackened eyes of his ex-wife's stepson, "I saw the way you looked at her when I dropped her off here on Saturday." He smacked the icepack out of Royce's hold, "I'm not an idiot. I've seen the look before…I hate to admit it, but I've given women that look, but none of them were under the age of eighteen."

Royce Sr. stepped forward. After everything that just occurred in the safety of his living room, he felt that it was due time he spoke up. He is the man of the house. He is one of the breadwinners of the home. As a result, he clasps his hands together and clears his throat, "Aro, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."  
"You looked vile!" Aro ignored the man's words and continued his focus on the younger Royce, "You looked at my daughter predatorily! You're 26 Royce!" He dug his fingers deeper into the collar, almost completely tearing it off, "She's ONLY 17! Did you think because she wouldn't give you a chance that you'll just take it? You figured that if you couldn't have her, no one can!"  
"What are we? Children. Grow up Aro." Royce Jr. pulled himself from the inconsolable father's grasp.  
"I'll get proof…and when I do," he backed up and took a stand next to Caius, "I'll gladly go back to prison if it means I can beat your ass six feet under." Aro watched as the youngest King grabbed his icepack off of the floor.  
"I didn't do it! I have an alibi!"  
Aro's arms crossed, "Yeah, well who?"  
"I can't say!"  
"Matter of fact," Aro took a glance around the entire living room, "where were ALL OF YOU when Rosalie was attacked?!"  
Lillian stepped forward in defense, "Don't question us like we're criminals! The only criminal I see in here is you!"

Aro took a frustrated breath of air. After a quick glance towards his brother, he walked over to the nearest wall, and leaned against it, "Where were you?"  
"Where were you," Lillian repeated in return.  
"I was with my brothers at the shop." Caius nodded to back up Aro's statement.  
Royce Sr. slowly raised his hand, "I was at the office."  
"I was on a two pm flight." James answered next.  
"I…was at work," Lillian lowered her head in guilt.  
Aro smirked as his head turned to face Royce Jr, "And you?"  
"I…I…"  
"I...I, what?" Aro snapped, abruptly approaching Royce Jr., "Where were you?"  
"I was with my dad! That's why we came to the hospital together!"

Without moving away from the younger King, Aro turned his head to face the older one. He gauged in his reaction, and made a mental note of each expression on his face. Royce Sr. remained calm. He nodded his head slowly to back up his son's statement. And before Aro could question anyone on why the younger Royce was so hesitant to answer, James waved for his mother's attention, "I'm about to meet up with Victoria for a late lunch."  
"We'll walk out with you…" Aro ran his hands together and gradually backed away from the wounded Royce. James nods in understanding. "You have definitely not seen the last of me," Aro opened the door and before stepping out, he spoke once more, "And for your sake, I hope you were telling the truth."  
"I'm calling the police," Royce Jr. struggled to preserve his balance.  
Aro slammed the front door, "Call them. Do you think I'm afraid of the police getting involved?" He didn't even turn around to face Royce as he continued, "We'll see about that."  
"I'm not surprised you want them involved. The more officers locking me up, the fewer officers there are to investigate my daughter's case. That's exactly what you want, isn't it?"  
"I didn't do this!" the younger King screamed.

Not wanting to continue the argument, Aro simply gave the King family a modest smile as he followed Caius and James out of the front door, "Aro, do not come back here." Lillian's voice murmured through her dry lips. And in mere seconds, he heard the locks on the door click. While he did not obtain a confession, he did however put the fear in Royce, and hopefully that fear would cause him to screw up and lead the police to him. For an outsider looking in, Aro may seem crazed and psychotic, but from those closest to Aro, they could tell he was hurting. Some people cry or write down their thoughts in order to relieve themselves of the pain, the sadness and the grief, but Aro wasn't like those people. He needed someone to blame. He longed to take his anger out on the person who caused the hurt and heartache in the first place. Some call him violent, but he just sees it as protective.

After stopping briefly, Aro continued to follow behind his younger brother. Without realizing that his brother stopped, Aro ran into the back of him, "What the-"  
"James," Caius abruptly hollered, cutting his brother off, "Something has been bugging me," James slowly turned to face him, "You said you were on a two pm flight?"  
James nods suspiciously, "Yes."  
"What time did you land?"  
"What's with all of the questions?"  
"Answer him," Aro growled, taking a stand beside his brother.

Aro could positively say he did not know what was going on. His brother picked up on something he obviously missed, and he wanted to hear it out. If Caius was suspicious of anything, then it was worth exploring.  
"I landed at…six."  
"You see," Caius crossed his arms, and scowled at his niece's older brother, "that doesn't make sense. Aro dropped Rose off at her house around noon. Garrett and Kate found her body around five-something." He stepped closer to the intimidating veteran, "The drive from the airport into town is OVER two hours!"  
James arms flew into the air, "WHAT?! So now I'm a suspect!" He rolled his eyes at the idea.  
"Where were you?" Aro finally put everything together…and everything his brother said, was true. He was so busy focused on Royce Jr. he didn't pay any attention to everyone else, especially his daughter's other relatives.  
"I don't owe you any kind of explanation."  
"We've always gotten along. Please, don't do this."  
"She's my sister Aro! I would never hurt her!" James pleaded for the two brothers to believe him, "And you don't get to question me like I'm a suspect. Let the police handle it! Let them do their jobs! I'm out of here!" Aro simply nods.

James may not have been Aro's son, but Aro has always had respect for him. He's a respected soldier. He wouldn't ruin all of that. James angrily got into the car and without giving the two brothers a second look, he started the engine and backed out.  
"I know what you're thinking…" Caius sighed, pulling his car keys out, "Because he's Rosalie's brother…and the fact that you seem to care for him a bit, you don't think he did it."  
Aro shakes his head, "I don't think he did it, but he's not my family. Rose is, and I need to know for sure. We need to follow him."

Living in a small-town had its perks in the sense that everything within the town was no more than a twenty-minute drive, however if something was not found in the town, it was usually located in the city, which was over an hour away. As the farewell to Forks sign appeared, the brothers soon realized they followed James to the motel right at the border of town. The motel is at most ten minutes from where Rose was attacked. Caius parked out of sight, and they leaned low to watch the young soldier rush out of the vehicle. James made a beeline for room six, before reemerging with a suitcase. After briskly tossing the piece of luggage into his backseat, he makes one last stop in the small main building. Minutes pass before James reappears, he takes one glance around and gets into his car before driving off, "Should I follow?" Caius buckles his seatbelt. "No," Aro opens the door, "Keep the car running."

Aro ardently jogged to the main building and pulled open the door. The weak –and cheap- door shook on its hinges as the overzealous father appeared inside. At the empty sight of the manager behind the wooden receptionist table, Aro keenly pressed his hand down upon the bell once…twice and a third time before Billy Black–the owner and manager of the motel- appeared.  
"Aro? Jacob told me about Rose. How is-"  
"What was James doing here?" Seated in his wheelchair, Billy wheeled around the desk as Aro cut straight to the point.  
"Excuse me?" He pulled his chair to a stop.  
"Let's just skip the small talk Billy," Aro leaned over and used his hands to grip the chair's armrests, "What was James doing here?"  
"He was checking out."  
"Why?"  
Billy pushed Aro's hands away, "Why would someone need to check out Aro?"  
"Well," Aro stood up straight, "when did he check in?"

Mr. Black didn't answer right away. He backed up his wheelchair and went around the desk. Aro was prepared to repeat his question when he noticed Billy flipping through a reservation book. Aro tapped his foot impatiently, as he eyed the clock on the wall, "You only have ten rooms Billy…and I'm pretty sure James has been the only person to have checked in and out of this dump in months!"  
"Despite what you think," Billy continued to skim through the pages, "people who are planning to drive through town book rooms for a night," he smiled as he approached the page, "He checked in last Wednesday." Aro stormed out.  
Caius pulled the car around to the front, "What's wrong?"  
"He checked in three days before Rose was attacked." Aro avoided eye contact with his brother as he buckled his seatbelt, "He lied to all of us. He's been in Forks the entire time."  
"What do you want to do?"  
"This isn't Lillian's stepson, this is her son." Aro leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He pried his left eye open and took a glance at his nervous brother, "She may have hesitated to call the police on me for Royce Jr. but she won't if I attack James. I can't afford to make the same mistake again, especially if James is innocent. I need to get more evidence before I throw out anymore accusations."

**Read and Review!**

**-Tiffany.**


	7. Celebration of Life

As majority, meaning ninety-five percent of the town's small population gathered at the location on the main road where the ambulance picked Rosalie up from, Lillian stood tall and dragged herself into the hospital. Because her daughter's vitals were looking much better, Dr. Brandon decided to take Rosalie off of the no visitors list. Following closely behind her was Aro and James, eyeing each other in the most ill-natured and malevolent way possible. Even though it was Friday, almost one week since Rosalie was found; the thick and grey atmosphere surrounding Forks remained.

Locals constantly looked over their shoulders. The residents locked their doors and didn't walk the streets alone. They unintentionally questioned one another, and they couldn't help but point fingers at anyone who so much as spoke ill words about the young Hale. No one was to be trusted, and for a town that was once so close, the newly placed atmosphere in Forks started to feel permanent. It was going to be permanent, at least until the perpetrator was caught.

The phones in the police precinct were constantly ringing off the hooks. Neighbors pointed fingers at neighbors. Co-workers blamed co-workers. Students accused their classmates. The tip lines reported fabricated or fortuitous leads that officers looked into, but none of them lead anywhere. As the days passed from Saturday to Friday, Aro grew antsy. He hardly spoke to anyone and he barely left the house. And on today, Friday, the day of his daughter's vigil, it has been the first day since Monday –when he attacked Royce Jr. - that he's left the house. The fact that he could now see his daughter after four excruciatingly long days was the light at the end of a continuously long tunnel.

Lillian stopped before her daughter's ICU room, and inhaled a deep breath. Her hand reached out for the knob, but her hesitation forced Aro to step forward and open the door himself.  
"Aro-"  
"Do not speak to me," the growling of his voice shook Lillian. She and her ex-husband had always bickered with one another. It was just the way their relationship worked. It didn't mean they hated each other, it just meant they had two strong personalities and neither wanted to back down. She's been told by him countless of times to not talk to him, but it was usually in his normal tone of banter. Today though, when he said it, she could see the sternness in his face and the rage in his eyes. Aro was dead serious.

Mrs. King felt Aro's shoulder shove pass hers as he entered the hospital room. James momentarily set his hand upon his mother's shoulder before giving it a tender squeeze. He flashed a smile as he released her shoulder, "Let's go see Rosie."  
"I'll meet you in there." Before heading into the room, he gave his mother a once over. In response, she provided him with an assuring grin, "I'll be like five minutes." Once the door closed, Lillian raced down the hallway, and pushed open the woman's bathroom door. She stepped into the first stall she saw, and locked it shut. The emotional mother inhaled and exhaled in a rhythmic fashion as she struggled to control her breathing.  
"I've been suspended," Elizabeth sighed, walking into the restroom. She pressed the phone against her ear in order to hear her mother's reaction better, "because on Sunday the rape kit went missing under my supervision, and now there's a pending investigation. Look, mom, it's not like I lost it on purpose." Lillian could hear murmurs vibrating through the phone and knew Elizabeth's mom was responding, "This is just great! Mom, I need this job and I'm suspended without pay. Leave it to Rosalie to continuously ruin my life beyond the gra-" Elizabeth's mother shouts echoed through the phone. It made Lillian cringe behind the stall. "Sorry, yes I know she's not dead. And no I'm not coming to her stupid vigil. It's pointless. She's not even awake to know it's happening." Silence took over before the nurse's voice broke it, "I'm sorry mom. I know it's not Christian, but I don't like her. Of course I don't act like this in front of her parents. She's a freaking vegetable; I'm not that mean to deliberately treat her different while she's vulnerable. She's practically a corpse, Dr. Brandon is just too nice and caring to tell Lillian that and besides her father's batshit crazy, and he'll-" Lillian opened the stall door and grimly stepped out. She approached the sink and leaned her weight against it as Elizabeth abruptly ended her phone call.

Elizabeth shoved her cell phone into her pocket as she stared forward. Her eyes scanned Lillian through the mirror and she could tell the frustrated and disheveled mother had heard everything.  
"Lillian-"  
"Save it," Lillian weakly raised her hand, "You've said enough."  
"You heard me wrong?  
Mrs. King swallowed furiously, "It's nice to know what you really think. Every time you saw me, you told me you were sorry about what happened to Rose. You said she'll pull through. She's strong. She's this…she's that. She's…I'll cut to the crap, you were just telling me what I wanted to hear, but in reality you thought none of it! Be honest Elizabeth, just this once. Is it true?"  
"Is what true?" Elizabeth stepped closer to Lillian.  
"Is Dr. Brandon really telling me what I want to hear? Is daughter practically dead?"  
"No," Elizabeth shook her head, "Of course not."  
"See, I find that hard to believe because that's not what you said a few minutes ago, but you know what forget about it. I KNOW my daughter, BETTER than ALL OF YOU! She'll pull through this. I know she will because she's stubborn like her father, and she won't give up that easy."

Before Elizabeth could cut in another word, Lillian raced out of the restroom. She used the hospital's hand sanitizer and rubbed her hands together before pushing open her daughter's room. Aro stood to the side of Rose, carefully caressing the side of her face. James sat to one side, holding her hand, leaving the other hand unoccupied. The older woman dropped her purse and raced across the room in order to lift her daughter's hand, "I promise you Rosie," she peppered kisses around her daughter's hand, "I promise we will find out who did this to you." She looked up and met Aro's eyes. He slowly nodded his head as she continued, "I swear on my life and the lives of those that I care about…I will bring your attacker to justice."

As the family sat at her bedside, visiting hours slowly reached its end. James had to practically pry Rose's hand from her mother's tight grip. "We're supposed to be heading to the vigil." James reminded, handing his mother her purse. She gave her daughter one last look before following Aro and James out of the room.

The short drive to the vigil area was excruciating. Lillian was already emotional and hearing everyone speak great things of her daughter would only sink her further into a depression. The dark sky surrounded the Forks town on the side road, but the many candles lit helped to illuminate their statures. Every resident of Forks was present and accounted for, except for Dr. Brandon. He needed to stay at the hospital just in case there was an emergency with Rose.

Commissioner Whitlock wrapped up his last sentence which consisted of the public being debriefed on where the investigation stood. So far, there was still no progress. Both he and the mayor thought it was best to withhold the information about the disappearing rape kit from the townspeople. He handed the microphone back to Sue as he stepped back into the crowd.  
"Over here!" Jasper waved his arm in the air to get the attention of Rosalie's family.  
Aro was the first to approach, "What did we miss?"  
"There have been no updates on the case. They're at the same place they were all week," As Alice started to fill them in; she watched Aro's reaction and knew that he was suppressing his inner Hulk, "A fight broke out in the beginning and Jacob and Laurent were escorted off the premises. Apparently, they blamed each other for what happened. Three prayers were given and four scriptures were read. Jasper, Emmett and I spoke and the mayor will be up next."

As mayor of the town, and Rosalie's step-father, it was only right that he spoke. He and Lillian were married for six years, and they've known each other for eight. It was his job as the mayor and as Lillian's husband to assure the public and guarantee justice for Rosalie. As Sue handed him the microphone, he took a step in front of the crowd, "Can I have everyone's attention?" The townspeople silenced themselves and each other, "Thank you. As everyone saw from the fight that broke out earlier, we're all a little tense and antsy. Most people are afraid, but I can guarantee you all that there is nothing to be frightened of. This was an isolated incident; the townspeople have nothing to worry about on that front. However, someone did do this. And because of that, everyone will be questioned and if you are without an alibi during the time of her attack, follow-up questioning will be given." The mayor scanned the large gathering crowd, "Now we're all here for Rosalie. Our purpose in gathering today is to celebrate and remember her. We want her to get better. We want justice for her. We want her family, our family to heal. This is the first step in achieving that. It's been a week and while there have been no breakthroughs in the case the Forks PD are doing everything in their power to catch this guy. I can assure every single one of you that." Once he finished, he handed the microphone to Sue.

Mrs. Sue Clearwater made her way through the crowd, forming an opened semi-circle. She stood in front of Lillian, who looked ghostly pale, the blonde mother took a hold of the mic that Sue extended towards her, "You're right on time." Lillian slowly nodded her head as she brought the mic up to her lips.  
"I would first like to thank Sue for getting all of this together. Secondly, I would like to express gratitude and appreciation for everyone that visited Rose and brought things to brighten up her room. And thirdly, I would like to thank every single one of you for coming out, praying and celebrating my daughter. If she knew about this, wow, it would undeniably bring a smile to her face, knowing that all of you care." A weak smile cracked upon Lillian's face, "As most of you know Rosalie has been taken off of the no-visits list, and that's because she's looking much better. Her color came back and her vitals are good." The crowd cheered, "She's still connected to the IVs and the breathing tube is doing most of the work in assisting her breaths, but," Lillian's voice broke, and Esme stepped forward to place a consoling hand against her friend's lower back, "I know my daughter and I know she'll come out of this." Lillian turned towards Esme and wrapped her arms around her as her body released loud sobs she's been withholding for days. Sue carefully took the microphone out of her hands and extended it towards Aro, "I don't think that's a good idea." Lillian quickly pulled out of Esme's arms. Tears still flowing out of her eyes, but she felt strongly about the assertion she just made.

"I want to speak," Aro took the microphone from Sue, "it's my right as her parent." He brings the mic towards his mouth, and sighs, "I'm just going to cut to the chase. There's no point in beating around the bush. We know how you all feel about me. Yeah, I'm an ex-convict. Yes, I served eight years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. Yeah, I also just recently finished serving two years on parole. Yes, I am not perfect. BUT, neither are any of you, at least I own up to my imperfections. Someone in this damn town did that to MY seventeen year old daughter, the ex-convict's daughter. Whoever did it is scum, and is definitely stupid." Sue reached to take the mic back, but he wasn't done, "The police are not doing their job. They're buying time! How is it that this is the ONLY case they are working on, yet they have NOTHING to show for it? I am going to find out who did this; I can promise every single one of you who are in the vicinity of my voice that I am going to find this bastard. And when I do," the crowd fell quiet as Aro gripped the mic tighter, "I'll rip out their intestines and strangle them with it. You heard me? I know whoever did this is out there in the crowd and I want them to be scared. I want them to look over their shoulder and fear what I'm going to do to them. You thought my father's death was harsh," he smirked and shook his head, "you haven't seen anything yet." He dropped the mic and walked away.

Aro couldn't stand any of this. He couldn't stay and listen to people talk about his daughter, especially when they didn't truly feel that way. And he definitely couldn't stay knowing that her tormentor was present. Everyone in town was here, except for Dr. Brandon, and apparently Jacob and Laurent. Commissioner Whitlock tapped the nearest officers, "Make sure he goes straight home. We don't want any more trouble tonight." Officers Charlie and Phil nodded and took off in the direction of their police cruisers.

Jasper, Alice and Emmett remained at the vigil to hear the remainder of the speeches. Royce Jr. gave a brief speech, followed by Esme, Joan, and James wrapped up the last words of the night. As the candles were blown out, and the lanterns were lit and released into the sky, one last prayer was read. Temporary traffic ensued since everyone parked along the streets, but after a brief three minutes it cleared out. It was one of the perks in living in a small-town.  
"Mom, I'm catching a ride with Jasper." Alice told Joan as her mother pressed a kiss to her forehead.  
She nodded, "Okay, be safe out there. Aro's on the loose."  
"He won't hurt us," Alice assured her mother, "He just wants the guy who hurt his daughter. Can you blame him?"  
"That's not the way to go about it Mary Alice." Her mother reprimanded, crossing her arms furiously, "No one has the authority to go around and make threats. He is not God. He cannot choose who gets to live and die. He does not have the right to play judge, jury and executioner. Regardless of the police's speed in the investigation, Aro does not get to take the law into his own hands!"

Alice took a step away from her mother. In her household, the subject of Rosalie was off-limits because Joan could barely think about the seventeen year old without crying. Alice has never really had the chance to get her mother's opinion on the entire situation. Jasper whispered in her ear that he and Emmett were going to get the car. Alice tilted her head as she stared at her mother questioningly, "This is Rose we're talking about…" Her voice quivered in grief.  
"I don't care if it's Santa Claus." Joan took a hold of her daughter's hands, "I'll be home in an hour or two. I'm heading to the church for a late night bible study session." She pressed a kiss against the temple of her daughter's head, "I'm serious Alice. You stay away from Aro. He's trouble. You know I love Rosalie like a daughter, but I'm not against forbidding you from going to the hospital."  
She ripped her hands from her mother's grip, "You can't do that! I won't let you."  
"You won't have a choice!"

Before the frustrated teenager could retort, Jasper pressed down onto the horn. She gave her mother a once over, as she slowly backed away, "You say Christians aren't supposed to judge. You're just a hypocrite." She hopped into the back seat of the car and leaned back as Jasper drove off, "Where are we going?"  
"Let's check up on Aro," Alice suggested, buckling her seat belt, "It's what Rose would have wanted."

Aro sat in the center of the couch, with a brother on each side. Caius set his hand upon his older brother's shoulder. He and Marcus left the vigil a few minutes after Aro stormed off. "Let's look at the bright side," Marcus spoke up, "I think you got your point across. Everyone in the town is probably trembling in their boots. And the guy who hurt Rose is probably trying to do damage control. He's going to freak out and make a mistake." The middle brother pushed his siblings away from him, "Can I please be alone?"  
"This is my place," Marcus asserted, but rolled his eyes when Caius nodded his head, "Of course. We'll go pick up some dinner."

The angered father leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His feet were propped onto the coffee table, and his hands covered his face. Flashes of his daughter played through his mind. He was ready for all of this to be over. And the only way that was going to happen was if he solved the crime on his own. Aro groaned immediately when a knock erupted on the front door. His brothers had left almost ten minutes ago, and his request to be alone was short-lived…unless he just didn't answer.  
"Aro," he heard Alice's voice call through the door, "It's us. It's me, Jasper and Emmett. We know you're in there."Aro sat up and stared at the door. He made no movement towards it.  
"We want to help." Emmett spoke up, jiggling the knob of the door, "We want to help you find out who did this to Rose because the police in this town aren't doing their jobs."  
"And how are you going to do that?" Aro shouted through the wooden door.  
"The same way you were planning to," Alice answered.  
"I think the police are purposefully not trying to solve her case!" Jasper shouted through the barrier. And once the words departed from his mouth, Aro opened the door, "What? You all are willing to help regardless of who it may hurt?" They nodded. Aro grinned and waved for all of them to come inside, "Rose is lucky to have friends like you."

**-Tiffany.**


	8. Chain Of Events

As quickly as Saturday arrived, it swiftly went by, ending the first week of Rosalie falling into a coma. The weekend was over in a flash, and the week that followed moved along slowly. Her status remained constant. Nothing has changed. The end of the second week approached, and sparked the beginning of the third week. Three weeks of being in a coma took a physical toll on the seventeen year old. Her hair and nails grew inches longer. During Alice's visits she began to clip her best friend's nails, and paint them. Emmett would drop pass just to talk to her or play her favorite music. And Jasper made it his mission to visit her daily to keep her updated on everything she has missed, including the latest gossip.

Elizabeth was still suspended, and Nurse Eric and Lauren had to step up to the plate and worked with Rosalie day after day. Lauren would provide sponge baths, and Eric would move the seventeen year old around daily to prevent bedsores. It was a team effort, and by week three they finally had everything in order. Rosalie wasn't awake, but the doctor's weren't worried. Her brain stem was still intact and functioning. And after weekly eye examinations, Dr. Cullen noticed she had spontaneous roving of the eye, which was great. She was reacting. All that was left for her to do is wake up.

The Friday of week three arrived, and Lillian could feel the pressure. She needed for her daughter to wake up. Lillian remembered the conversation she had with Dr. Brandon, and she recalled that by after week four, Rose would no longer be classified as comatose, but as being in a continuous vegetative state. It scared her. She was terrified. This was not in the plan for her daughter's life. Rosalie was supposed to finish her junior year, become a senior, go to prom, graduate and then leave this small-town and go to a college in the big city. That was the plan they had for her. It was the one thing she and Aro agreed on. Not this.

The town was slowly loosening up and going back to normal. People still visited Rose faithfully, and for that Lillian was extremely grateful. Lillian was finally back at work, and her lunch breaks, she personally reserved for her daughter. As she walked into the hospital, she saw James leaning against the receptionist desk, chatting with Victoria. She didn't want to disturb. She gave the new couple a nod of the head, as she made her way down the hallway. In her hands were fresh flowers, ready to replace the dozen that died.

Lillian pulled the sunglasses from her eyes, and wrapped her hand around the knob. She adjusted her hand around the flower stems before pushing inside room 142. Lillian normally expected to see Aro, since he hardly left Rose's side, but today, she saw Jacob, sitting at her daughter's bedside, "I didn't think anyone was here." She closed the door quietly behind her. Sometimes Lillian forgot that her daughter was in a coma, not asleep, and therefore she would catch herself whispering and tiptoeing around.

"Oh sorry," Jacob pulled away from Rose and wiped at his eyes. He stood up and cleared his throat, "I'm really sorry."  
"I'm actually surprised you came to visit her on your own." Lillian walked over to the chair and laid the flowers upon it, "It's no secret that you two aren't on the best of terms." She went for the first vase she spotted, and emptied its contents into the trash, "It seems my daughter has a nice list of people in this town who do not like her." Lillian gently placed a few of the new flowers into the vase.  
"Who?"  
The older woman rolled her eyes, "You, Royce Jr. apparently Seth and Leah too." Lillian went to grab the next vase, "Elizabeth doesn't even like her." Before she could replace the flowers, she turned to face the high school senior, "Did I…did I raise her wrong?" She tossed the dead flowers into the trash, "There's obviously something wrong with her if five people that I know of do not like her. Literally anyone could have done this!"  
Jacob went for the remaining vases of deceased flowers and emptied them, "She isn't a bad person Lillian." He held his hand out for some of the flowers, "Everyone doesn't always like everyone. We're all bound to have someone not like us."

The two silently finished up switching the flowers. Sue, thankfully, donated them to Lillian, no charge, so she could swap them out. Sue was willing to do that as long as Lillian wanted. The two, along with Esme and Renee were great friends, and it was times like this that one needed a great friend. Lillian eyed the seat Jacob previously occupied, "I don't know what to do anymore." She flopped down into it, "Prayers aren't working. Talking to her isn't working. Alice has painted her toes and nails. Jasper reads to her. Emmett plays her favorite music!" She looked up, and her teary eyes met Jacob's orbs, "I'm about ready to give up…and let her rest in peace."  
"It's only been three weeks!" Jacob argued.  
"And if she wakes up, then what? The years of therapy she will need to battle the emotional and psychological trauma this has caused her! She won't trust anyone! She'll constantly look over her shoulder! What kind of life is that to live?"  
Jacob set his hand upon her shoulder, "At least she's living…"

He was right. Lillian knew he was right. She didn't know where those thoughts came from, but she couldn't stop them from coming out. Her words tore at her. She was willing to give up on her daughter. Aro was right; she's not a good parent. There has never been a time when he gave up on her. The only reason he still even lives in Forks is to be near his daughter. After he was released from prison, he came straight back. The townspeople wondered why, and his only answer was Rose. He quietly sat back as people shouted at him, judged him, kicked him out of businesses and glared at him. Aro didn't mind any of that because he was close to his daughter. She was the ONLY reason he came back to Forks in the first place. As soon as she leaves, he's leaving. He hated majority of the town's population, but if he needed to suck it up, he was willing to do so.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Her hand rested on top of her daughter's, and her eyes remained focus on Rose's sleeping face, but her question was directed at Jacob, "Not that I mind…I don't really want her to be alone."  
"When I came with Sue, Leah and Seth, I didn't get to speak to her alone." Jacob noticed the few stains of dried blood. It was hard for the nurses to clean that since it would most likely bother the tubes connected to her.

Lillian stood up, keeping contact with her daughter's hand, "What are you doing here Jacob?" Her eyes squint. She didn't mind him visiting at first, but she couldn't help the feeling that he was avoiding the subject. She wanted a specific answer and she was going to repeat her question until she got one.  
"I'm apologizing," his eyes drift over Lillian's shoulder and reads the poster hanging against the sidewall.  
"For what?"  
He swallowed hard, "I drove pass her as she was walking." He stepped forward and noticed the bruising on her lower face was slowly going away, while the blackened eye remained, "I just honked, waved and drove right on pass. Her arms were full of bags from the store and I just drove by without giving her a second look."  
"Wait," Lillian raised her hand.  
"I know, I'm a horrible person and this has been haunting me for the whole week, but-" The rambling of Jacob was immediately cut off.  
"No Jacob"  
He tried to continue, "If I had just stopped,-"  
"NO!" Lillian hollered at the top of her lungs. She released her daughter's hand and moved around the bed to become face to face with the eighteen year old, "Jacob, you said she was holding bags?"  
"Yes…" His head slowly nods up and down, "…from the store. She had about six or seven. Her arms were full of them. She practically was dragging some."

Lillian took a seat against the edge of her daughter's bed. The beeping of the monitors comforted her as she thought to herself. Her hands rubbed against the fabric of her dress pants, "I thought she didn't make it to the store." She said it more to herself, but Jacob heard her.  
"Oh she definitely did. How can you explain all of the bags? And how can you explain the fact that she was walking in the direction towards your house?"  
"So she was attacked on her way home…"  
Jacob lifted his thin jacket, and took a lasting glance at Rosalie. He smiled softly, rubbed her lower arm, before turning to Mrs. King, "I'm going to give you some time with your daughter. I skipped school for this and I've been here since I left for it this morning." He stopped inches before leaving out of the room, "Don't tell my dad I skipped. He's already worried I won't graduate on time." Lillian wiped her eyes and gave him a nod of the head.  
"Rosie, you know any other day I would stay here with you. I spend my whole lunch break at your side, but there is somewhere I need to be." Lillian stood to her feet, leaned over and pressed a kiss against her daughter's slightly bruised cheek.

Alice, Emmett and Jasper tossed their backpacks to the side as they closed the door behind them. Aro sat at his dining room table, scanning the list of facts that they know of involving the case. He leaned back in his seat, and lifted the sheet of paper, "Okay, so we know after I dropped her off, she decided to walk to the store. She was attacked on her way there since Laurent said he never saw her." Aro rubbed his forehead, "Emmett was at practice. Alice was with Bella. And Jasper you remained at your house. I was at work with Marcus and Caius. Right now, our focus needs to be on James. He lied to everyone, including his mother and sister. He wouldn't lie about being in town early for no reason."  
Alice took the seat beside her best friend's father, "…but James wouldn't do this?"  
"Before three weeks ago, we didn't think anyone would do this."  
Aro tipped his head towards Emmett, "He's got a point Alice."  
"We can't forget that my dad lied about being in the woods," Jasper spoke up, taking a seat across from Alice, "I always go into his closet and borrow things…and those boots are my dad's working boots. He never gets them dirty. He_ never_ gets dirty; he has this thing about germs."

Aro rose from the four person table, and extended the sheet towards Jasper, allowing the seventeen year old to add that to the list. "Are you sure though?" Aro tilted his head at the high school junior, "because once he's on my radar, he won't come off…not until I find this bastard."  
"I'm not writing it down," Jasper pushed the sheet of paper away. He took a side glance at Alice, "I told Alice the day I found it, and I got to thinking. My dad may be a lot of things, but he's not this. He may not be perfect and he may do a lot of questionable things, but he wouldn't hurt Rose. He knew here for her whole life."  
"Jasper," Aro lowered himself to become eye level, "I trusted _everyone _in this town, even though they didn't trust me. I never checked up on Rose because I knew that in a town like this, she wouldn't get hurt. Look where that got me…" he stood back up, "look where that got her. If you're going to help me, I need you to realize that right now it's us vs. them. Until we can safely assure ourselves that your dad didn't do it, he's going on that list. Now please, do me a favor and write it down."

Jasper blinked away the nerves that developed in his expression, as he shakily jotted his father's name and the lies he knows his father told. Alice took a hold of the paper once her boyfriend was finished, "What I don't understand is why…if we figure out why someone would want to hurt Rose, we'll be able to figure out who did it."  
"My point exactly," Jasper added, handing Aro the pen, "it's one of the reasons why I know my dad isn't involved. He has no motive."  
"Then who does?"

Aro had thought that teaming up with his daughter's closest friends would make the investigation easier, but it only proved to be futile. They were still at the drawing board, naming suspects instead of finding evidence to prove which suspect was guilty. Emmett rose from his seat and walked around the small dining table, "Or if we can't figure out a motive…we can look at those who've been acting differently since Rose's attack. People who are close to her that seem to have distanced themselves from her."  
"I see where you're going with this," Aro nodded along.  
"I have two people in mind," Alice raised her hand slowly, "but you're not going to like it." She turned to face Emmett nervously.  
Aro snapped his fingers to draw in her attention, "Who?"  
"Bella and Edward."  
"No," Emmett shook his head, frantically looking between Aro and Alice, "my brother wouldn't be involved in anything like this. He couldn't. He…He's not that type of guy. And Bella? Really? She's one of your best friends! She's one of Rose's best friends."  
"Yet, she hasn't visited her so called best friend," Jasper chimed in. He slowly added everything to together and the idea of Edward and Bella knowing something seemed believable.  
"Bella's afraid of hospitals. THAT is why she hasn't visited," Emmett defended, rubbing his temples, stressfully. He knew that his brother and Bella weren't capable of doing something like this. Bella and Edward were their friends, not enemies. They had no reason to attack Rose.  
Alice stood up, "I'm calling bullshit on that one!"

Aro took a hold of both Emmett and Alice's wrist. The stern look that followed quieted both seventeen year old's down enough for him to fit a word in, "Explain."  
"Bella says she's afraid of hospitals." Alice summed up to Aro before turning to look at Emmett, "but last year when poor Edward had a skateboard accident and dislocated his shoulder, she was at his bedside the entire time, wasn't she Emmett?" She angrily tore her eyes away from her best friend's boyfriend and faced Aro once more, "Aro, you and I both know if you can visit the hospital for a minor dislocation, that you should be able to visit the hospital at least one time for someone in Rose's condition! Shit, Royce Jr even visited and he can't stand Rose."

Surprisingly, Aro remained the level-headed one in the situation. He didn't once raise his voice and he struggled to not jump to conclusions. Aro pulled his car keys from his pocket, and placed them into Alice's hold, "Take my car and go to Bella. See what's going on with her. Emmett won't try and stop you," he gave the football player a firm look, "will you Emmett?"  
"No." Alice nodded her head at Emmett's murmur before she rushed out of the apartment.

Before the front door could close completely, a hand pushed it open. The wooden door hit against the wall as it was pushed open. Aro took a stand in front of the two high school students protectively. He didn't need for them to get hurt on his watch. The ex-convict held his arms open, struggling to block the two teenagers from whoever just entered, "It's just me." James growled, making his presence known.  
"You just walked in?" Aro questioned, lowering his arms, and stepping towards the veteran untrustworthily, "Who gave you the right to just storm in-"  
"Who gave YOU the right to follow me? To ask questions about me!" James interrupted with the strength of his masculine voice, "I already know you checked up on me at the motel. Billy called me after you left, but you see I let it slide, but no more. You've been following me for the past three weeks, and if it's not you following me, it's Caius." Caius came running into the house seconds after, as James continued, "It STOPS today! Do you hear me Aro?"  
"Why? You have something to hide."  
James clenched his fists, and released his anger and frustration into the wall, "No! I didn't do anything to hurt my sister! So, stop acting like I did!" Paint on the wall chipped.  
"You lied though," Caius chimed in.  
"I lied? About what?"  
"When you came into town," Caius finished, eyeing the bruises forming around James's knuckles, "There's no possible way you could have come into town when you said you did. Look, we know you got into town on Wednesday."

James fists shook against his sides. He eyed each person in the dining room, before pulling a chair towards him. His body aggressively flopped into the chair, and his hands covered his face, "Please, you have to believe me," James dropped his hands and looked up pleadingly. His face was red and tears streamed down his cheeks, "I didn't do that to Rose. I didn't even see her. The only people who knew I was in town were Billy, Victoria and Esme."  
"My mom?" Emmett stepped forward.  
"I got released early because of psychological reasons I don't want to talk about," he averted his eyes around the room, searching for something besides the looks of everyone to focus on. He stared forward at the shaded lamp, "I was too scared to go straight home. If I was released because of psychological reasons, I didn't want to take the chance of coming home until I got the thumbs up from a therapist or counselor."  
Emmett nodded his head in understanding, "That's where my mom comes in."  
"Yes, she worked with me. I was fine. I was just stressed and unfocused. She said I could return home on Saturday, and that's why I told my mom and Rose that I would be coming in on that day," James bit down on his lip as his eyes remained focused on the lamp, "Victoria would bring me groceries and we would hang. She'll keep me company. And you all know Billy owns the motel so I had to check in and out with him. They all agreed to keep quiet because I was too ashamed. I was embarrassed. The prodigy son of Lillian King wasn't perfect," he rolled his eyes, before his orbs softened, and he made eye contact with Aro, "You don't know what it's like over there! You have to believe me…I didn't do this! Yes, I was in town. I admit that. I also admit that I'm not perfect and that I have problems, but I stayed away because I wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt my family!"

Aro extended his hand towards his daughter's brother. Blinking through the silent tears that spilled down his cheeks, James placed his firm hand into Aro's opened one, "Thank you for your service."Aro pulled the twenty-four year old to his feet, and into a manly hug consisting of a rough pat on the back, "I'm relieved. I didn't want to believe it. Out of everyone in this town, besides my brothers and your mom, you're the only one I feel has always had Rosalie's best interests in mind. And for you to have used that endless amount of trust she has for you, against her-" Aro cut himself off. James didn't do it. They could move along from entertaining that subject.

The bell over the entrance dinged as Lillian pushed the glass door open. The small store, consisting of just about any and everything someone in a small town would need was nearly empty. The only people present were Laurent, and Garrett and Kate. Garrett and Kate were most likely shopping for the town's anniversary, which will take place next Saturday, the fourth week of Rosalie's coma.  
"Lillian," Kate smiled, handing Garrett control of the shopping cart, "For a town this small, I'm surprised I haven't seen you around."  
"I've either been at home or the hospital. I recently went back to work." Lillian shrugged her shoulders as she maneuvered past Kate, "I don't want to sound rude, but do you mind if we resume this conversation some other time. I really need to speak to Laurent so I can head back to the hospital."  
"Of course."

The older woman watched as Kate walked back over to her husband. She took a hold of his hand and resumed shopping as if nothing happened. Lillian hesitated as she began to skim through the aisles of the store. Because the building was so small, it only consisted of three aisles. Lillian caught Laurent's line of vision in the party supply section, "I heard you were looking for me."  
"Who told you that?"  
"I heard you tell Kate that just now."  
"Yes," Lillian nods, reminding herself of the conversation she just had, "I actually have a few questions to ask you."  
Laurent hung up the last deflated balloon, "Let me guess." He turned to face her, "It's about Rose."  
"Yes."  
"Jacob told you why we were arguing at her vigil."  
"No."  
"Then what is this about?" Laurent made his way down the aisle, slowly restocking shelves as he moved.

Lilian reached out and grabbed the young adult's forearm. Out of shock, Laurent dropped the party streamers onto the floor as she turned him to face her, "You told the police that Rosalie didn't make it to the store. You said she didn't come here."  
"She didn't." He pulled his arm free.  
"Jacob said that he saw her with bags…a lot of them."  
"So he did tell you why we were arguing," Laurent leaned low and picked up the packages of streamers, "Look, your daughter may have gone to the store, but she didn't come to this one. She must have gone to another store. This isn't the only store on this strip."  
"Are you sure?"  
Laurent turned away from her, and carefully placed the streamers on the shelves, "Yes. I wouldn't lie about this. What reason would I have to? I didn't see Rose that day because she didn't come here."

Mrs. King stepped away from the dread-headed man. He mindlessly adjusted the colored streamers on the shelves, avoiding eye contact with the exhausted mother. Lillian remained in place. She looked over her shoulder and spotted Kate and Garrett entering the aisle, "How's your grandma?" Lillian turned back to face Laurent.  
"She's receiving the best of care," he gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm supposed to drive a little out of town to pick up some medication that's really going to help her. My grandma's getting much better," he placed his hand on Lillian's shoulder, "just like Rose will."


	9. Ultimate Betrayal

Alice pounded her fist against the wooden oak door of her supposed best friend. No answer. She knew Bella was home because she saw her enter her house moments ago. In the last four weeks, Bella has skipped school, work, community service and social contact. She had been hiding out for weeks, and wouldn't allow anyone to visit, not even Edward. In the beginning Alice thought nothing of it. She just assumed that Bella was acting this way as a sort of coping mechanism, but the more days that had passed, the less she had seen of and/or heard about Bella.  
"I know you're in there," Alice's hand turned red as it continued to knock against the door, "I came yesterday, I'm here today, and I'll continue to come until you answer the door!"

When Aro sent Alice to Bella's home yesterday, she sadly had to return with no news. Now striking the beginning of the fourth week, and the end of the first month, no progress in Rosalie's state has occurred. She was taken out of ICU and placed into a more comfortable room that allowed more visitors to visit. Her charts no longer read comatose…it now listed her as a patient currently in a continuous vegetative state. The swelling of her brain went down a minimal amount and the bruises located around her body started to clear up even more.  
"Bella! Bella, answer the door! Someone answer the door!" Alice pressed her ear against the wood, "I can hear you breathing! Come on! I just want to talk to you. When I'm done, I'll leave. I promise!" Alice backed away from the door as she heard someone unlock it.

The large wooden oak door cracked open, and Bella tiredly peeked her head out, "What do you want Alice?"  
"Can I come in?" Alice tried to push the door open, but Bella's foot prevented it, "Please."  
"No. It's just me and my mom here and we're not up for company."  
"What's wrong? We haven't seen you and Renee for weeks. You guys made a brief appearance at church and at the vigil, but that's it. Is everything okay?"  
Bella squeezed her eyes shut, "A few weeks ago we found out some bad news."  
"What is it?"  
When Bella opened her eyes, tears began to streak down her face, "I can't tell you."  
"Why have you been avoiding us? You've even been avoiding Edward. I haven't spoken to you since that day in the hospital." Alice reaches her hand out for the door, but Bella continues to hold it in place, "You CAN'T come inside!"

Alice nodded slowly as her friend's emotions sunk in. Bella's face was flushed and tears streamed down her cheeks. Her forehead was sweaty, and she occasionally bit her bottom lip.  
"You're nervous." The young Brandon set her hands against her hips, "Why? Does it have to do with Rose?"  
Bella blinked out of her reverie, "What? No. What gave you that idea?"  
"You couldn't visit her-"  
"Hospitals scare me! You know this!"  
Alice quipped, "They didn't scare you when Edward had his skateboarding accident."

Bella inhaled a sharp breath and exhaled it seconds after. She avoided eye contact with her friend, as she stared down at the concrete ground. Her palms became sweaty while she held the door in place. And Alice could see it all. She could read her friends like an opened book. Bella may have had the entire town fooled, but not Alice. The disappointed look on Alice's face grew as she spotted Renee glancing at her through the side window, "You're feeling guilty Bella. I can tell."  
"You don't know me Alice!"  
"I know you better than you think I do," Alice assured, pulling out her mother's car keys, "You're feeling guilty about something Bella, and if it involves Rose, you need to tell me."  
"Just LEAVE!"  
"Get it off your chest."

Before Bella could respond, Renee appeared at the door. The bright smile on her face assured her daughter as she took a hold of Bella's hand, "Alice I think that's enough. Bella's really tired, and we're heading out of town for a few days. She needs to rest up."  
"You're going out of town?" Alice questioned, looking between the two women, "Who? Where? Why?"  
"Okay," Renee laughed solemnly, "Bella and I are going to Port Angeles. You know the next town that's about an hour away. We're going there because we can use the break. It'll just be for a few days. Since Rose's attack, Forks hasn't been the same. It's been tense, dark and just edgy."  
"Why isn't Charlie going?" Alice noticed her best friend's father not present. Every time she's been to the Swans' home, he wasn't present.  
"We're taking a little break." It was the only answer Renee provided.  
Bella wiped her eyes, "Alice you need to leave."

The seventeen year old didn't argue. She didn't respond. All she did was turn on her heels and walk back to her mother's car that she had to borrow. Before Alice could get in her car, Renee slammed the front door shut. Bella faced her mother as she felt hands wrap around her, "I know honey, but it's what's best. If the town found out, Charlie wouldn't be the only one shunned, but they'll shun us too. We'll be ridiculed like Aro. Our town doesn't take criminals well. It's to protect your father...and us." Bella pulled out of her mother's arms and glanced down.

Her eyes drifted to the silver, metal kit located just behind the door. It was Rose's rape kit and it was in their possession. If it were to be tested and examined, it would trace back to Charlie Swan and they couldn't have that. Renee and Bella weren't just going to Port Angeles to get out-of-town and relax; they were going to dispose of the kit.  
"The car is all packed up," Renee turned to glance down at the kit, "All we need to do is put that in the car and drive off. Your dad will continue to be a free man."  
"But is that fair?" Bella lowered herself to her knees and sat in front of the kit, "Dad gets to walk free while Rose suffers. How is that fair? How is that justice?"  
"Your father is a good man!"  
"Who raped and beat up one of my best friends!"  
"He's a cop Bella."  
"Mom, that doesn't give him the right to be above the law."

Bella trailed her fingers along the closed and locked rape kit. Her hand came to a stop at the handle, "Dad doesn't even know that we know what he did. I had to lie to my friends and everyone that I care about. I never visited Rose because the guilt of what we're about to do is too strong. I can't face Lillian or James…and I definitely cannot face Aro. And what happens when Rose wakes up?"  
"You mean if…" Renee corrected.  
Bella rose to her feet, and kicked the kit across the room, "Lillian is one of your best friends. How could you betray her like that?"  
"Would you rather I betray your father?"

Renee walked across the room and lifted the kit. Her grip around it tightened as she grabbed her car keys off of the coffee table, "Mom," Bella stepped forward slowly, "if we do this, there is no going back. Once it's ruined, it's over. Dad gets away with it, BUT what if he does it again? What if we're not protecting him? What if we're enabling him?"  
"We'll worry about that if the situation presents itself."  
"So someone else has to get hurt like Rose for you to consider turning dad in."  
"Let's stop talking about this," Renee gave her daughter a kind smile, "its Saturday…now let's hit the road before it gets too dark." She opened the door and allowed Bella to step out first, "There's a ravine about 45 minutes from here, we'll stop there, open the kit and dispose of it properly. We have to make sure this cannot be traced back to your father and us."

Lillian took an exhaustive seat at her desk. She pulled off her white, veterinarian jacket, and silently watched as it fell to the floor. Her laptop was opened in front of her, with her daughter's credit card information typed into the login page. She glanced down at the silver plastic lying upon her desk, as she prepared herself to type in the remainder of information. Her social security number, birthdate and full name, check. Expiration date, card number, and three digit number on the back of the card, check. Lillian hated logging into her daughter's account, but it was needed. Times were desperate, and she needed to do it if she was going to get answers. When she gave her daughter a credit card, the card did not only represent money and independence, it represented trust. The trust it signified was that her daughter was now growing and maturing into an adult and wouldn't need her mother as much.

"I'm doing this to help," Lillian whispered in a tactic to convince herself. She pressed login and allowed the computer to do the remainder of the work. The cursor hovered above credit card statement. On her sixteenth birthday, she was gifted with a credit card, and once the shiny plastic made contact with her palm, she hardly used cash anymore. It was just easier and simpler to charge things. Laurent had said that Rosalie did not come to his store, she had gone somewhere else, and while her fingers remained cross, she clicked upon the left mouse key.

If she knew her daughter as well as she thought she did, Rose would have used her credit card. She hardly went anywhere without it, and now that she was working and had a direct wire link from her account to her credit card, she began purchasing and swiping her card with less regret and more ease. Lillian sat up in her seat as the page fully loaded. "Mrs. King, your next appointment is in."

She pressed down upon the response button, "Tia, who is it?"

"Quil Jr. and his dog Scruffy, and they're in for Scruffy's shots."

Lillian did not respond. The date of her last purchases appeared, and the last purchase she made totaled $56.34 at Laurent's store. Her hand faded white as it gripped around the mouse. She reloaded the page in order to make sure the accurate information popped up. Three weeks ago was the last time her card was swiped, and the date of her attack appeared on the screen at around two in the afternoon. She was definitely at Laurent's store, and her card wasn't stolen because it sat in her daughter's pocket when she was found. And currently, it was sitting on Lillian's desk. Laurent had not only lied to the police, but he lied to her. He looked her in the eyes and lied. _I wouldn't lie about this_. His brown eyes stared into hers as his voice uttered those sickening words. _I didn't see Rose that day because she didn't come here_. He even had the nerve to insinuate that Jacob was lying and her daughter went the extra steps to go into another store.

The older veterinarian slammed her fist against her desk, causing the mouse to slip from the mousepad. It landed on the floor within seconds. "Tia," Lillian pressed against the response button, "can you reschedule Quil Jr. I have something I need to do, and it involves Rose. He'll understand."

"Of course," the chipper receptionist responded, as a low bark faded in the background of the intercom.

Lillian leaned back in her chair, and allowed for the mouse to remain on the floor. She speed dialed Aro's number, and on the second ring he answered, "Who said I was talking to you?"  
"It has been weeks." Lillian retorted, leaning forward.  
"I can hold a grudge."  
"Well not right now, I need you to meet me at Laurent's store. I have to fill you in on something that you're not going to like…it's about Rose."

Aro sat up in a haste, "When should I meet you?"  
"Now."

Once the dial tone blared through the speaker of her phone, she dialed the next number that came to mind. It was growing late, and she was leaving work an hour before she was technically off.  
"Lillian, what's up?" At the sound of her neighbor, and the town's police commissioner voice, she broke out of her daze.  
"…I need you to meet me at Laurent's store in two hours."  
"Okay," he nodded, "but why?"  
"…to make an arrest."  
"What happened?"

Bella's face rested in her lap as tears poured out of her eyes. Her hands were pressed against her forehead in an attempt to soothe her crying, "I can't believe we just did that."

"We had to destroy it Bella," Renee leaned over and rubbed her daughter's back. Her eyes remained on the dark road as they continued their travel, "The only reason we're getting away in the first place is so you can get yourself together. If we go back into town now, then people will know what's up…and this is a small town, everyone is always in someone else's business."

The young Swan lowered her hands, and leaned back in her seat. She stared out at the dark sky, illuminating the even darker road, "How is this not bothering you? Lillian is one of your closest friends. Rose is like a sister to me. You're like a mom to her. How could you be okay with this?"

"I'm not!" Renee argued, gripping the wheel tighter, "I'm angry! I'm pissed! How could your father do something like this?" She inhaled a sharp breath, and sporadically let it out, "I mean, I knew he was capable of doing a lot of things, but this! He's a cop! He swore to uphold the law, not break it." The older Swan's voice broke as her chin quivered, "How could he ruin our family like that? We'll be pariahs in town. They'll force us to leave Bella. I'm not doing this to protect your father; I'm doing this to protect you!"

Bella turned away from her mother and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She noticed the wet substance drip from her hands and onto her pants leg, "Alice knows something is up. She's smart mom. With a little more digging, she'll figure it out."

"And it'll only be speculation honey," Renee leaned across and pat her daughter's leg, "The only evidence to prove your dad did it, is now broken into pieces and floating at the bottom of a ravine that's almost an hour out of town."

"We're covering dad's crime." Bella whispered to herself. Her hands ran up and down her pants leg in a nervous and swift motion. She closed her eyes and repeated her earlier statement, "We're covering dad's crime. We're covering dad's crime. We're criminals' mom. I couldn't even visit Rose because I felt so guilty. I was going to suck it up and visit her with Alice and them, but when Elizabeth left Rose's room with that rape kit, I couldn't go in…knowing what we planned to do. How…How could I go in and comfort everyone knowing that my dad did this…and we're covering it up?"

Renee admired the serene of the night. Knowing they were in the middle of nowhere comforted her. She pulled to the side of the road, and turned to face her daughter, "We're getting out of town for a few days not only to allow things in Forks to cool off, but so we can get ourselves together. Rose is going to be okay Bella. And eventually, everyone will give up in searching for the culprit. It'll turn into a cold case and your friend will get past it." She grabbed her daughter's chin and turned her to face her, "How do you think Rose will feel knowing your dad, my husband did that to her? She'll probably convince herself that you had nothing to do with it, but to go about her day, and look into your eyes and seeing your dad…No baby, that's not right. It's not okay to put her through that. Do you understand me?"  
"Yes," Bella nodded. She gave her mouth a meek smile, as Renee turned to face the road.  
"Let's get back on the road before it gets any later. I'm supposed to call your dad when we make it to the hotel."

Aro paced in front of his car as Lillian finished filling him in. His hands raveled and unraveled through the tale, and he occasionally pounded his fist upon the hood of his car. Lillian tried to get the truth from Laurent, but he lied to her. He lied to the cops the first time, and her the second. She doubted he would lie to Aro, especially looking into his rage-filled eyes.

"Laurent," Lillian knocked against the locked store-door. It closed a few minutes before they got here, but the light in his back office hinted to her that he was still here.  
"Closed." They heard his voice shout from the back. However, Aro didn't care. He balled his fist and banged even harder against the glass door.

Laurent jogged to the front of the store, his face covered in annoyance and frustration. At the sight of an angered Lillian and a furious Aro, he abruptly stopped, "What do you want?"  
"Open the door Laurent." Aro muttered, pulling against the handle.  
"Why?"  
"I suggest you open the door before Aro here breaks it down."

Laurent gave Aro a quick glance and knew that Lillian wasn't bluffing. Aro was going to break it down if he didn't open it. Within seconds of taking a few deep breaths, Laurent unlocked the latch.

The overly-aggressive father shoved Laurent to the side as he entered the store. Lillian stepped in peacefully, enjoying the feeling of sitting back and allowing for her ex-husband to take charge and gather answers from Laurent. "Did Rose come here?" Aro set his hand upon a shelf full of gift bags.  
"No," once Laurent's answer was said, a row of gift bags was knocked off of the shelf. "What are you doing?"

"Did Rose come here?" Aro repeated, lowering his hand to the next shelf of gift bags.

"No," Laurent stepped forward to try and grab the bags, but they fell to the ground before he could catch them, "Like I told Lillian, she must have went to another store. She didn't come into mine! I swear! I swear on the life of my grandmother!"

"Your grandmother's life much doesn't mean a lot to you." Lillian muttered, directing Aro towards the party table cloths, "Tell us the truth or he'll keep destroying your store."

"I'm telling you the truth."

Before Aro could knock over the row of tablecloths, Lillian bit her tongue and did the job. She watched as the assortment of colored tablecloths fell to the ground. Laurent stepped forward and crossed his arms, he stood by what he stated, "I'm telling you the truth. She didn't come to my store. I didn't see her that day. I didn't even know she was coming to the store until I went to visit my grandmother."

Lillian glanced around the store, searching for something that would convince Laurent to spill the truth. Before she could finish scanning the store, she realized Aro was no longer beside her, and neither was Laurent. He was briskly trying to keep up with her ex-husband, "Where are you going? What are you doing?"

Aro pushed open the door to Laurent's office. It was a small space, which consisted of a file cabinet, desk with a computer and an even smaller closed closet. The angered father rushed over to the file cabinet and pulled open the first draw, "Rose was here. We know she came to your store. Don't lie to us again."

"I'm calling the police." Laurent walked over to his desk phone.

Lillian beat him to it, and yanked the cord out of the receiver. She tossed it across the room as Aro dumped the first draw of files onto the floor, "Why did you lie about my daughter coming to the store? Did you do that to her?"

"What? No!"

"You lied about everything else," Aro pushed the files off of Laurent's desk, "Why should I believe you? You still haven't admitted the truth! Why did you lie and say my daughter didn't come to your store when you knew she did?"

Laurent's silence gave Aro and Lillian the answer they needed. The two split up and began searching and destroying Laurent's office. It had to be something inside of his office that he was willing to give truthful answers if it were threatened to be destroyed. Lillian turned to face the closed closet once the contents of the file cabinet and desk drawers were emptied.

"You can't go in there!" Laurent shouted, rushing to take a stand in front of the closet door.

Lillian laughed as she watched her ex-husband shove him to the side, "We just want the truth Laurent. Is that too much to ask?"

The sound of sirens blared in the distance, and they soon started to grow closer and closer. She told Brady to meet her at Laurent's store in two hours. It brought her and Aro time to get answers before the police arrested him. Brady didn't know why she wanted him to wait two hours, but as a favor to a friend, he waited. Now, the police were seconds away, and would literally be here at any minute.

Aro threw open the closet door, "What's in here that you're so scared for us to see?" He rose to the tip of his toes and searched the top shelf, while Lillian lowered to her knees in order to search the floor. Aro found nothing of value at the top, and started to pull Laurent's coats from his closet. Lillian released a strangled breath, as she crawled out from the closet, "Aro," she tugged at his arm, "Look." The emotional mother began to pull the piles of clothes off of the three shopping bags. The pile of clothes was meant to shield the common eye from seeing them, but as she tossed them to the side, more bags were revealed. There were six bags in total.

"You have no right to search my belongings," Laurent hollered, racing to his closet.

Aro held him back, "Lillian, search the bags."

Each bag the older woman turned upside down and dumped the contents. 'Welcome back' decorations fluttered the floor as each bag was turned. When the last bag was flipped, a long thin piece of receipt paper floated out, and Lillian caught it before it hit the ground.

"Aro," she heard shouts coming from the police as they announced their presence; "she held the receipt out to him." Her eyes watered as the paper became clenched in her hand.

"Lil," Brady called out, strapping his weapon, "What's that?"

"Laurent lied to you Brady. He lied to all of us. Rose did come here." She held out the receipt, "My daughter paid with credit card, and her name is on the receipt. He must have followed her out of the store after she left." She turned to face Laurent, "You have to arrest him! Or…or at least take him down for questioning! He did this! He hurt Rose!"

**-Tiffany.**


	10. Left Alone

The bright sunlight burned his eyes as Laurent stepped outside for the first time in three days. It was approaching the end of the fourth week for Rose, but for Laurent his worries had only just begun. Jason Jenks, his lawyer stood beside him, and led him through the crowd.

"Filthy trash!"

"Criminal!"

"Demon!"

"Scum!"

Laurent struggled to ignore the insults that were shouted in his direction. Some of the voices he could make out, and some he couldn't. The town was now able to find peace. The focus was no longer on young Rosalie, but it now rested upon Laurent. For weeks the mystery of who attacked Rose plagued the streets of Forks, but now knowing the police believed Laurent was responsible, rested their aching and worried hearts. Regardless of what Laurent pleaded, the town believed him to be guilty, which was partly due to him lying and the other part with Aro and Lillian finding her bags in his presence. However, the evidence against him was merely circumstantial, and with the best lawyer in town defending him, Laurent was released three days later.

For the three days, the tension and anxiety in the town disappeared. Laurent was painted as Rosalie's attacker. Any other person who may have seemed like a suspect was quickly dismissed. Laurent provided the biggest lead, and he had plenty of opportunity. The only thing the police needs to re-arrest him is a clear motive and for Rosalie to wake up and identify him as the assailant.

Renee took a hold of her daughter's hand as Laurent continued to make his way through the crowd. Bella felt entirely guilty. She knew Laurent was innocent, yet she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Charlie stood a few inches behind Laurent, as he and his partner escorted the suspect and his lawyer to the car. Charlie made no eye contact with Renee, and the eye contact he did make with Bella seemed relieved. Bella felt sick. Her dad looked relieved…Relieved that someone else was taking the fall? Or relieved that he will never get caught for what he did to Rose?

"Don't come to the motel," Billy shouted as Laurent walked pass him.

Sue crossed her arms, "And stay out of my florist shop!"

"Don't come anywhere near the schools!" Esme added, wrapping her arm around Emmett's forearm to prevent him from storming over to Laurent, "And stay away from all of our children!"

"I didn't do it." Laurent whispered, barely audible for anyone to hear, "I had no reason to hurt her. I…I would never do such a thing."

"Liar!"

"Asshole!"

"Monster!"

"Bastard!"

When Laurent noticed the shunning stopped, he couldn't help but to see why. The entire time he made his way through the crowd, harsh words were shouted towards him, and yet as he still had a small distance to walk to Jason's car, he realized no words were uttered. It was silent.  
"Let's keep going." Jason waved for Laurent to follow him.

Instead, Laurent turned around and noticed the attention of the townspeople no longer focused on him. He followed their line of sight and noticed Aro and Lillian exiting the precinct.  
"How could you just release him?!" Aro's voice hollered over the silence, "You're quick to lock me up the moment I blink at someone wrong, yet this guy can beat and rape my daughter and walk out of a jailhouse like he's the big man on campus? This justice system is a fucking joke." The crowd parted in order to allow Aro and Lillian to make their way through the crowd. Aro arrived to his car, got inside and sped off.

As Laurent arrived to Jason's vehicle, the shouting and name-calling started back up again. As a result, he quickly slid into the passenger seat. Jason started his car, honked the horn a few times before pulling out of the parking lot. "I'm going to tell you something," Jason pulled onto the main road, "the next few days will be the most crucial. People will be watching you. You can't do something to screw up. Don't talk to anyone about the case, especially anyone in this town. Word spreads like wildfire."

"I'm innocent though…"

"That doesn't matter," Jenks asserted, pulling up in front of Laurent's store, "they'll just assume that you're lying. Now, I'll handle this, you just try and get back to your regular lifestyle. Visit your grandma, she's probably worried sick."

"She doesn't want to see me," Laurent opened the car door and stepped out, "She thinks I did this. Until I'm proven innocent, she wants nothing to do with me. And I don't blame her. I don't have the cleanest criminal record. She needs to focus on her health right now, and I and the justice system aren't going to help her."

Laurent stood on the sidewalk in front of his store and watched as Jason drove off. He turned around, and took a deep breath, preparing himself to enter the madhouse that he calls a business. When the bell dung over his head, he noticed the spray painting on the walls before he noticed the store items on the floor that were knocked there by Aro and Lillian. The words 'rapist,' 'woman-beater,' and 'criminal' were sprayed with red paint against the white walls. He felt his knees buckle as he realized that the town had turned against him. It was either everyone loved you or they hated you. And once you commit a crime of this magnitude, living here would never be the same.

Prepared to allow the rush of tears and fear of going to prison wash over him, Laurent drew his legs towards his chest. He wrapped his arms around them, and pressed his face against his lap, before his cell phone started to ring. Without looking at the caller's name, he slid his finger across the screen, before pressing the device against his ear, "You lied to me. You said that if I told the police she never made it to my store so the timing of her attack could be off that you would make sure it never leads back to me. You were supposed to have everything handled."

"You're the dummy who kept the shopping bags. It was merely their word against yours until her damn parents found them."

Laurent sat in the center of the floor, resting his face in his hands, "If I go down, I'm telling them everything."

"And if you do, I'll take the money back. Don't forget it's the money I'm giving you that is paying for your grandmother to have the best medical care." The voice growled in the store clerk's ear, "Now, I told you not to show them the surveillance tape, I'm taking that back now since everyone knows Rose came to the store. In order to clear your name, show the surveillance tape, it'll show how you didn't leave the store…at least not during the time she was attacked."

"Okay," Laurent nodded.

"You have to give me your word that you won't say a thing."

"You have my word," the store clerk nodded again, "but what if they ask me why I waited to show them the surveillance tape if it clears my name?"

"…You're a smart guy. I'm sure you can think of something." The man hung up, leaving Laurent sitting on the floor with the phone still pressed against his ear.

As he sat on the floor, his eyes scanned the surrounding walls. The black camera in the corner of his store caught his eye. The red light beaming bright on the surveillance camera signaled to him that his security device was recording. Before he could make a move towards it, he heard the bell ding above the entrance door.

"Oh Laurent," the store clerk looked up at the sound of someone calling his name.

In the entrance of his store stood Jacob, Paul, Sam and Embry, each looking angered as they surrounded him. Laurent didn't feel himself put up a fight as he felt the four guys beat him to the ground. His body ached as punches came into contact with his chest. He groaned as kicks hit against his back. Laurent curled into a ball and allowed for the remainder of the assault to occur, before it all stopped completely. He peeked through his blurry vision and saw Jacob standing over him, "How does it feel to not be able to defend yourself?"

"I'm…I'm innocent," Laurent coughed out.

Paul's foot struck his stomach, "That's for Rose."

The four teenagers ran out of the store and took off down the street. Laurent crawled out of his store and pulled himself to his feet. He could see his four assaulters fading away from his line of vision. Laurent ignored the aching pain coursing through his body as he raced into his disheveled office, and searched through the tapes sprawled out over the floor. Each tape recorded a week's worth of video, and when his eyes fell upon the tape that recorded the week of Rosalie's attack, he picked it up and ran out of his store. His car remained parked since the day he was arrested. He pulled the keys from his pocket, and strapped himself into his vehicle. If today was any indication of how the rest of his life would be living in this town, he didn't want anything to do with it. Laurent may have lied, but he was innocent, and he was going to clear his name. The video not only had visual, but it provided audio as well.

By the time he reached the small-town police precinct, the crowd was gone. Most were probably home and preparing for tomorrow being Friday. Laurent clenched his stomach, and limped into the precinct. Aro had come back, and he sat with Lillian, James, Emmett, Jasper and Alice, each of them waiting on some type of information. They needed to know what the next step was going to be in regards to catching and locking up Laurent for good. At the sight of him, every officer and civilian stopped what they were doing.

Aro rose from his seat, "Have you come to confess?"

Officer Charlie Swan held a background check of the suspect in Rose's case in his hand, as Laurent pointed towards the interrogation room. The family and friends of Rosalie stood, as Charlie allowed for them to listen from the other room. Commissioner Brady left work moments before Laurent showed, and he would usually be the one to handle the interrogation, but because he wasn't present, Charlie had to step in.

"Your lawyer isn't present." Charlie set the folder down.

Laurent took a seat, "I'm fully aware of that."

"Are you here to press charges," Officer Swan took in the sight of Laurent's battered face, "on whoever did that to you?"

"No," he shook his head, and coughed, "I'm here to tell you the truth."

"The truth is," Charlie opened the file he laid upon the table, "before you and your grandmother moved into town, you had several domestic violent charges filed against you."

Laurent recognized where Charlie was going with the conversation. When he interrogated him after first being arrested, he had said the same thing; Laurent just couldn't answer or respond because his lawyer advised him against it. Now, Laurent had no lawyer.

"…that's why I lied about Rose being in the shop," Laurent whispered. Alice noticed the nervous shaking of Laurent's leg as she stared at him through the mirror, "…that's why I hid her bags." He swallowed hard, looked up and forced eye contact with the mirror, "I knew that if you found out that I was the last person to see Rose, you'll look up my record, and then you'll think I did it." Laurent was talking more towards the family, than the officer.

"Why should we believe you?" The familiar voice of Lillian pulled in Laurent's attention. She now stood at the entrance of the interrogation room.

The suspect rose to his feet, "…because I have proof of my innocence."

For the first time, everyone noticed the tape resting in his hand. He slammed it against the table, and without saying anything, Charlie rushed out of the room in order to wheel in a TV. While he was out, the family and friends of Rosalie stepped in. Each of them said nothing to him.

"The police here are a joke," Laurent muttered under his breath.

The police weren't experienced in handling such cases. Shoplifting, littering, loitering and vandalism were crimes that they were used to solving…because this was their first major crime to solve, they were a bit inexperienced.

The door re-opened, and Charlie and his partner Phil entered the room, pushing in the television. Laurent rose to his feet and held out the tape, "This will clear my name."

"If that tape works in your favor, why keep quiet about it?" Alice raised a brow, curious to how Laurent will answer.

"I forgot about it," he lied.

"Yeah right," Aro scoffed, taking a seat in Laurent's previously occupied seat, "you just thought you were going to get away with your first lie."

Charlie prepared the video, and repositioned the television in a location where everyone held a good vantage point. He pressed play as the image read Monday at the bottom of the screen, "You'll have to forward it to Saturday." Laurent took a seat at the edge of the table, "…to a little around two." The sound on the video was silenced as Phil began fast-forwarding the recording.

When the timestamp appeared to be around the time Rosalie left to come to the store, Phil pressed play. They watched as Laurent flipped through a magazine while sitting behind the counter. No one was in the store. When the bell rang out, he closed his magazine and stood up, "Hey Rosalie."

Aro and Lillian's breath hitched as they listened to their daughter greet the store clerk back. It had felt like forever since they heard her voice. While watching home videos were a great distraction, her voice wasn't the same. She was much younger and the maturity in her voice wasn't there. Now with the recording of their daughter's voice being a whole month ago, it was the closest they had to hearing her. It was the most accurate.

A dimpled grin tugged upon Emmett's lips, as he watched his girlfriend grab a shopping basket. He took a quick glance around the room as almost everyone's faces mirrored his, "She looks so happy."

"She does," Jasper nodded to back up his best friend's statement.

"She's happy because she was excited that you were coming home," Lillian took a hold of her son's hand. The smile on James face faltered as he realized his mother still didn't know the truth. He didn't even know if she ever would, "She was so happy to see you again. Rose even had a countdown on her phone for when you came home."

On the recording, they watched the seventeen year old continue to throw things in the shopping basket. She hummed a song barely loud enough for the video to pick up. Watching someone shop may have seemed boring, but for those who love Rosalie, it was just what they needed to see. The girl they watched in the video was completely different than the girl they watched for a whole month in the hospital.

During the video, Laurent remained behind the cash register. He reopened the magazine and resumed to flipping through the pages. The time on the video increased as the high-school girl took her time in shopping, "Do you have this in blue? It's my brother's favorite color."

Laurent left the magazine opened on the counter, "I'll go check the back."

"Thanks." Her appreciation was drowned out by the sound of her cell phone ringing.

Jasper looked at her parents, "I didn't know someone called her." They watched as she answered her phone with a loud and frustrated groan, "No one mentioned speaking to her before the attack."

"Pause it," Lillian ordered, and Officer Phil did as she requested, "Is there a person you can send this tape to so they can zoom in and clear up that image so we can see who called her?"

"Off of that little phone screen," Charlie wondered, and shook his head, "this isn't the movies Lillian." He turned back to the screen, rewound it a few seconds, and pressed play.

Laurent left to check the back to see if the item Rose wanted to buy was here in blue. The group of people watched her roll her eyes as she drew out an irritated groan, "What do you want?" the seventeen year old sets the shopping basket down, "I can't promise you that. Why? Really, you're asking me that… it's because you're sick." Rose's voice grew sympathetic, "you need some serious help. The town won't judge you because you relapsed." Rosalie stared forward as the voice rang louder through the phone, "I'm just trying to help! Your daughter is in denial! Your husband is hardly home! No one sees what I see. I saw you at Siobhan's bar, and I know you started up again. You focus all of your energy on your image and you obsess over it…no matter who it hurts, and then you drown out your misery in a bottle. That's not healthy. You should talk to someone. It doesn't have to be a therapist, but it should be someone... you should talk to my mom or maybe Esme." Silence grew on Rose's end as she listened, "Why did you call me if you didn't want my help?" The shouting increased forcing Rose to pull the phone away from her ear, before slowly bringing it back, "Are you threatening me?" the seventeen year's old face flashed with anger, "No. I'm not the one who's going to destroy your family, you don't need my help in that department because you're doing it fine yourself! You really need help, and I'm telling your husband so you can get the help that you desperately need."

Rosalie didn't allow for the person to get another word in. She hung up the phone, and dialed the next person that came to mind. It went straight to voicemail, "Hey, call me back. It's really important. I need to tell you something."

"You're in luck Rose," Laurent exited the back as she hung up; "This is the last one in blue."

The smile appeared back onto her face, "Oh thank you, you're the best." She took a hold of the decoration and placed it into her basket, "I'm ready to check out."

Laurent waved the young woman towards the cash register. He stared down at the opened magazine, before looking back up at Rose, "So, what's the occasion?"

"James is coming home today."

"Welcome him home for me."

"Will do," she pulled out her credit card and handed it over, "If you want, you can come slide by the party. It's in," she glances up at the clock on the wall, "Oh no, it's in an hour. I really need to go." She pocketed her card, and took a strong grip of each bag, "See you later Laurent." Rosalie raced out of the store, leaving Laurent behind the counter.

The group watched the store clerk resume flipping through his magazine He didn't leave right after her. His alibi was the store and the surveillance camera recording him.

Phil pause the video, "You're free to go."  
"Wait" Aro rose from his seat, "leave the video. She was on the phone with someone, and she called someone else. We need to figure out who the people are."  
"I already know," Charlie whispered.

Jasper looked between Charlie and Phil, "Who?" Phil shrugged his shoulders.  
"She called me."

At Charlie's admittance, Aro rose to his seat, gripped the officer by the collar and slammed him against the mirror, "You had a lead and you said nothing."  
"It wasn't a lead." Charlie struggled to pry himself from Aro's grip, "She was calling to tell me about Renee. Renee started drinking again. Rose found her passed out drunk at least two times."

"Did your wife have something to do with this?" Lillian carefully asked, nervous for his answer, "Did my best friend set Rose up to keep her quiet?"  
"No, Renee would never. She loves Rose like a daughter. That was just a minor disagreement."

"…Renee threatened Rose." Alice reminded.

"It was an empty threat," Charlie asserted, ejecting the tape, "Renee is a bit obsessed about our image in this town because you know the moment you screw up, everyone knows about it and no one forgets. She was just trying to protect mine and Bella's image."

Lillian sat down in Aro's seat, "I thought she stopped drinking. She was clean for three years. What started her back up?"

"She's a stressful drinker, and she's insecure," Charlie admitted, handing the tape to Phil for evidence purposes, "…if she so much as thinks someone's talking about her or doesn't like her, she's tempted to take a drink." The worried officer began to pace, "A few days before Rose's attack, she was pulled over for DUI, but Brady let her off with a warning. We kept it between us because Renee isn't a bad person, she just needs help."

* * *

The guilt tore Renee apart inside as she sat in her living room. The lights were turned off because she wanted to be graced by darkness. The blinds were closed to prevent the sunlight from beaming in. Renee lifted the bottle, and tossed the glass down onto the floor. She poured the remaining drops of alcohol into her mouth. She knew who hurt Rose, and she destroyed the only evidence possible to catch and convict him.

Renee threw the empty bottle across the room. Besides Rose, Charlie and Brady also knew about her relapse, and the two latter agreed to keep it a secret. It was Rose who wanted to tell someone before something happened and caused for someone to get hurt. The alcohol only fueled Renee's insecurities. It heightened the sadness and guilt she felt. While Charlie continued to enable his wife, it was Brady who tried to help her get clean. He was her true friend, not anyone else in the judgmental town. When Rose was attacked, she knew the motive behind Charlie doing it. He wanted to keep her quiet. He wanted to protect his wife like how she's protecting him now. He knew if the town found out about her relapse, they would turn their backs on her because after helping her get clean the first time, they wouldn't be up for trying a second. She would be called weak, and the insecurities she already felt would increase to the point where she drank herself into a grave. Renee released a loud cry, "Charlie hurt Rose to keep her quiet," her voice was low as she grabbed the next bottle beside her, "It's really my fault." Her eyes glanced up to the family photo positioned next to her, "but why did you have to rape her?"

**-Tiffany.**


	11. Dead End

As mid-April arrived, sparking the start of the second week in the second month of Rosalie's coma, Renee's actions became the new norm. Day in and day out, she sat in her living room, nursing whatever drink her hands came across that day. She couldn't help herself. She didn't want to see anyone. She's insecure and apprehensive and she's always been this way. The moment Renee stopped taking her anxiety medicine, the feelings and the insecurities increased.

Renee rose from her seat as the sound of a beating knock pounded against the front door. Bella was at school, and even though Charlie moved out a few days after Rosalie's attack, he spent most of his time at the precinct than at Billy's motel, which is the location he's currently been residing in. Renee glanced down at the row of empty bottles and a part of her was tempted to hide them, but whoever was at the door, would eventually find out about her addiction. Everyone would soon enough know about her addiction and her insecurities.

"I'm coming," she struggled to step around the empty bottles spread out around the carpeted floor.

The older Swan no longer got drunk or tipsy. It was like her body built up immunity to the toxins she was consuming. The only good the alcohol caused for her was numbing the pain of her husband's crime and numbing the guilt she felt for covering his crime up. Renee took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and ran her fingers through her hair before pulling the front door open, "Everyone knows," Brady made his way into her house.

Renee closed and locked the door, "Knows what?"

"…about your drinking problem."

Brady stared down at the empty bottles splattered around the grungy living room. Renee knew the town was going to find out, but she didn't think they would find out this soon. She assumed they would know during the time she has come to a conscious decision to get sober…not during the time where she's comfortable and okay with continually drinking. The older Swan already knew what would follow, some people will drop by with sympathy baskets, and others will come by to pray for her. While the gestures were kind, they meant nothing to Renee, because she knew that the town was going to mentally judge her.

"How?" Renee leaned against the wooden front door.

"A few days ago, Laurent came into the precinct with a surveillance tape which provided him an alibi," the commissioner approached his friend, "and on the video it picked up on an argument Rose had on the phone."

"Who was she talking to?"

The commissioner extended his hand, and rested it upon her shoulder, "You."

Renee slid down onto the floor, and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs, and pressed her face into her lap, "Me?" the sound of her voice was almost smothered, "I don't remember that."

"Were you drinking?"

Renee looked up, "It's possible, but how did everyone else find out."

"Charlie," Brady took a calming seat beside her, "He admitted that you were the one Rose was talking to and how you had relapsed."

The angered alcoholic sat up straight, "Really?" She pushed herself to her feet, "Seriously?" Her feet begin to pace back and forth in front of Brady, "I break the law to protect him and his image, but he's quick to ruin mine the first chance he gets!" Renee kicked an empty bottle across the room, "It took years for me to get people to stop labeling me as the town drunk...and now it's back! How dare he Brady?!"

"It's not that important," Brady rose to his feet.

Renee's eyes quickly averted to one of her closest friends. The pupils of her eyes grew large as she glared at the police commissioner, "It's not that important Brady!" Her voice grew louder in range as she repeated his earlier statement, "Of course it is! I have to do something!" She started pacing again, "Charlie can't just get away with this. I'm going to-"

"…do nothing," he finished for her.

"Whose side are you on?!" She hollered at the top of her lungs.

"I'm on your side," he assured, taking a cautious step forward, "I'm on the side that protects you and Charlie."

The older Swan gently nodded her head. She walked around Brady and approached the end table. Her glass was empty, and as a result, she opened the almost finished bottle and poured the remaining contents into it, "You know Brady," she dropped the empty bottle to the floor, "when you came to me the day after Rose's attack and told me what Charlie did, I almost took my own life," She brought the glass up to her mouth, and took a quick gulp of the burning liquid, "I wouldn't have been able to live through the scrutiny, the pain and the embarrassment that the investigation would've caused…but then you said the only evidence that can pin him to the attack was the rape kit, and then when you suggested we steal it, I thought you were joking," She gave him a kind smirk as she paused to take another sip, "You saved Charlie, Bella and my own image without any selfish intent. You saved my life!" She slammed the empty glass down onto the end table, "And I am appreciative and thankful for that, but I can't help but to ask why?"

Brady closed in the large distance between him and Renee. His large hands wrapped around her upper arms, "Because we're friends." He gave her an assuring nod of the head, "We have a bunch of people living in this town who aren't born locals. They moved here…and us locals have to stick together."

"…but, the Hales are local," Renee reminded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, "and by helping us, you're not helping Aro, Rose or Lillian…and I thought Royce Sr. was your best friend." She pulled herself out of his hold, "You two would do anything for each other, and you wouldn't jeopardize your friendship with him, but withholding important evidence about his step daughter's attack could end your friendship."

"Don't worry about our friendship, okay Renee." At Brady's words, the older woman nodded, "My loyalties and priorities are in order. I promise you that." When he finished his declaration, Renee couldn't help but grab her friend and pull him into a hug, "Now, we need to figure out how to get you back on the sober wheel…and you need to start taking your medication again."

While remaining in the embrace, Renee sighed against her friend's shoulder. He pat his hand against her back, waiting for her to respond, "I have to admit, when you came to tell me that Charlie was the one who hurt Rose, I didn't want to believe you. I couldn't believe you…but you convinced me. And you're right. While every part of me wants to believe that he didn't do it, I know deep down that he did." The hug broke off, "Thank you Brady for coming to me after you found out instead of arresting him."

The commissioner set his hand upon her shoulder, "That's what friends are for."

* * *

Lillian and Aro led their family and friends down the long and quiet hallway of the hospital. As they made sharp turns, their speed quickly increased. Lillian neared the hospital room, and hastily opened the door. Inside of Rose's room, there stood Dr. Cullen and Dr. Brandon beside the comatose teenager's bed.  
"Dad's what going on?" Emmett made his way around Alice, Jasper and James, "Why were we all called?" He raced up to his girlfriend's side, and lifted her hand, "Is she alright? You said it was an emergency."

Esme approached her son, "Emmett, sweetie, just relax."

"Emmett has every right to panic," Lillian raised her voice, "What's going on?" She looked around the room and saw the worried looks on Esme and Joan's faces, "You usually just call me and Aro. Why was everyone else called?"

Dr. Brandon crossed the room, and pulled a seat up to Lillian. The older King refused to take a seat, as her husband wrapped his arm around her lower waist, "Don't beat around the bush," the mayor asserted, pulling his wife close, "Just tell us what's going on."

"As you all know, it's the second month of Rosalie's vegetative state," Dr. Brandon started, picking up the clipboard that was once strapped on the end of Rose's hospital bed, "And usually there are people who remain in a vegetative state for years before waking up…but in Rosalie's case, we don't think that'll happen. We've been running tests since the start of April, and the swelling in her brain is not going down, and there is little to no brain activity." Dr. Brandon took a glance at his wife and daughter before looking back over at a crying Lillian, "After much discussion with the hospital board, we want to request for removal from the machine."

For a split second, Lillian stopped breathing. She felt her heart stop beating in her chest. She felt her legs go numb, forcing her to take a seat in the offered chair. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair as the blonde mother began breathing loudly and roughly.  
"Lill-"

"No," she shook her head, "No, I am not giving you permission to remove my daughter from the only thing that is keeping her alive!"

Ever since the arrest and release of Chuck, the idea of Rosalie, the visits to Rosalie, the investigation and the severity of Rosalie's attack seemed to slowly drift from the minds of the townspeople. It was as if they had given up on her. It was like they had given up on getting justice for her. The prayers and the visits on behalf of Rosalie soon began to decline. It was like people are slowly forgetting about what happened to her, well, everyone except her immediate family and her close friends. And if Rosalie were to pass away, the entire memory of her would fade from the town. Lillian refused to allow that to happen.

"I can't Jeremy," Lillian asserted, as her eyes fell upon her peaceful daughter.

"Let me expla-"

Aro shook his head, "She said no! I said no! We're not doing it! No. I refuse!"

"According to our files, we only need Lillian's signature." Dr. Brandon informed, flipping through the manila folder, "It's not 100% she'll pass away. She may stay alive."

"I'm not taking that chance!" Lillian shouted, rising to her feet.

"And if our tests are correct, she has no brain activity Lillian. She's already gone. We even did reflex tests, and those weren't good either." Dr. Cullen walked over to take a hold of the clipboard from Dr. Brandon, "The machine is the only thing keeping her here physically, but in reality, she's already gone."

Dr. Brandon continued to flip through the loose pages in the folder, before he stumbled across the document he had been searching for. He placed the file on the edge of the bed, and sat the pen on top, "To be honest, I sugarcoated a lot of things for you," he admitted, slowly approaching the silently crying mother, "usually after the first two weeks of a coma, we begin to suspect a severe brain injury. And we had hoped that the swelling would go down, but," he inhaled a sharp breath before releasing it, "it hasn't gone down enough to prevent future problems. Lil, I'm talking to you as a friend and not a doctor. And living a life strapped up to a machine isn't right. It's not what she would want."

"You don't know what my daughter would want!" Aro hollered at the top of his lungs. Veins began to flare up on his forehead and neck, as rage flashed through his eyes, "I don't give a damn what you think or what the other doctors think! I know my daughter, and I know she's a fighter; she'll come out of this. We just can't give up."

Royce Sr. turned his wife to face him, "Lily," he pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss against her forehead, "I think the doctors are right."

"What?" Lillian pulled away.

"Remember the day your dad died," Royce brought up as his wife nodded, "you forced us to sit down and talk about death. You let us know that if you were ever on life support and the doctors requested to remove you from it, that we should sign off on it. You were adamant about how you didn't want to live like that. You told Rose and James that it would hurt to say goodbye, but by removing you from it, we're allowing you to rest in peace. Don't you want that for your daughter?"

Lillian pulled herself away from her husband, "It's different!"

"How?"

"I lived a life! I graduated! I got married! I went to college! I travelled! I had children! I lived a good and long life Royce!" Lillian cried out, pushing through everyone to get to her daughter's bedside, "She's seventeen! She's hardly seen the world! She's never left the country before. She hadn't graduated or went to prom! She didn't get a chance to have a career or go to college. She's never gotten married or had the pleasure of having children! How do I just sign off to end a life that has barely even started?" The inconsolable mother cried loudly as her shoulders shook, "I outlived my parents and I buried both of them. I'm not supposed to bury my kids too. That's not how the world works! Children bury their parents, NOT the other way around."

"This is continual suffering for her," Royce Sr. whispered as he cautiously approached his wife, step by step.

Lillian lifted her daughter's hand and brought it up to her heart. No one around the room spoke. The friends decided to take a step back and allow Rose's family to figure things out. While Alice, Jasper and Emmet hoped that Lillian stuck by her word and wouldn't sign the document, at the end of the day, they had no say in the matter.

"Mom," James stepped forward.

"You know, when you left to join the military and was stationed overseas, I always thought every knock on the door was someone coming to tell me that I had lost you," Lillian cried out, peppering kisses around her daughter's hand, "but James, I always thought she was safe. I never would have guessed she'll be the child I would have to bury. If I had just taken her to the store, none of this would have happened. My daughter is dying because of my selfishness! I can't pull the plug on her because the moment she dies, a part of me dies too!" Lillian's shoulders shook as she cried into her daughter's open palm.

James wrapped his arm around his mother, "…then I think you made your decision. We don't end the life support."

"But what if I am being selfish?"

Lillian looked around the room and took in everyone's appearance. Somewhere in the arguing, Marcus and Caius pulled Aro out of the room. Knowing her ex-husband, she knew it wasn't an easy job. Dr. Cullen and Dr. Brandon were conversing in the corner of the room with their wives Joan and Esme. Emmett stared out of the window as Jasper attempted to keep his girlfriend calm. At her question, her husband stepped forward, "Sometimes we have to take ourselves out of the equation. You have to think about what Rose would want, not what you want. Things happen for a reason. There are consequences for certain actions. When someone so great and beautiful like Rose, suddenly lands in a coma and may die with no chance to say goodbye, we don't understand for what reason that is, but we have to know that God doesn't make mistakes."

"But baby, she has her whole life ahead of her!"

"She had her whole life ahead of her," The older King wrapped his arms assuredly around his wife, "I'll be here for you every step of the way. And you don't have to make any decision now; you can just take the paperwork home and think about it. Weigh your options."

"We can give you a day or two to think about it." Dr. Brandon announced, as he watched Lillian nod her head against her husband's shoulder.

The blonde mother pulled out of the mayor's arms and approached the paperwork laid upon the end of Rose's bed. She saw the line waiting for her signature, as she pocketed the pen and lifted the form, "What are you doing?" She heard the angered voice of her ex-husband as he entered the room.

"I'm not signing it."

Aro slits his eyes, "then why are you even touching it? Why are you keeping it? Give it back to the doctor and say no thank you."

Caius and Marcus stood behind their brother, in their attempt to keep him calm. Marcus took a stance between his younger brother and former sister-in-law, "What's going on Lillian?" Marcus took this as his chance to speak, "You can't seriously be considering this."

"Marcus, you're the reasonable one of the three. You have to understand the dilemma I'm in."

"I own parental rights of my daughter. Your brother signed them over to me when he went to prison. It's my decision, and when I make it, I would appreciate it if you all would support it."

Aro shoved his hands inside of his pockets, "I don't give a damn about the rights I signed over. That was a mistake! I was between a rock and a hard place, and your divorce lawyer forced my hand! I didn't want to sign them over."

"That doesn't matter," Lillian growled, shoving the file into her large purse, "What matters is the fact that I have Rose's best interests in mind. I will do right by my daughter."

"This is BULLSHIT!" Aro kicked the empty chair over. The angered father bit against his bottom lip, "She's the only thing that keeps me leveled. She's my anchor Lillian. If I lose that…there's no bringing me back. "

"And that's selfish thinking Aro." Lillian corrected, "We have to think about Rosalie, not ourselves."

The furious father stepped around his brother and stood face to face with his ex-wife. As his eyes squint, and seethed within her orbs, he responded, "What did I ever do to you? Why," Aro's voice betrays him as it cracks, "Why are you torturing me?" Tears welled within his eyes, "Am I that bad of a guy that you would rather see our daughter dead than in my life?" Aro tried to quickly wipe away the tears in his eyes before anyone noticed, but it was a fruitless attempt, "I know I'm a bad guy. I know I'm a felon. I know that I'm not perfect, but Lillian I am trying! You have to at least see that."

"I do see that," Lillian gave her head a nod, "but that doesn't take away from everything you did. You killed someone Aro. You don't appreciate life. While I would have given everything I had to get another day with my dad, you killed yours!"

"He served his time for that," Caius argued in defense of his brother.

Marcus stepped forward, "You and the rest of this town could never look past it. Caius, Rose and I never hold that against him, and he was our family."

"EVERYONE GET OUT!" Aro screamed at the top of his lungs. He stretched out his hand and gripped his ex-wife's wrist, "everyone, but you."

At the reassuring nod of Lillian's head, everyone exited the room, leaving the two parents alone with no witness, but their vegetative daughter. When the door closed, Lillian ripped her arm from her ex-husband's hold, "We have nothing else to talk about."

"You're such a hypocrite."

"I'm a hypocrite?"

"You continuously put me on a path to destruct, and when I do, you turn your back on me every time! Any time you're in trouble and you need a man to handle it, I'm always the first you call. When you found out that Laurent lied, who did you call to come and get answers? Me. When you wanted to say no to Rose, but couldn't, who did you ask to tell her no? Me. You want me to look like the bad guy, and when I do, you push me away and wipe your hands clean of me!" Aro approached his ex-wife, and stood chest to chest with her, "You knew my dad, and you knew he was physically and psychologically abusive to me and my brothers, and that I had gotten the brunt of it. And when I turned eighteen, I swore I would never see him or visit him again, and when he started to make attempts to be in my life again, it was YOU who told me to trust him! It was you Lillian who wanted me to give him the benefit of the doubt, YOU backed him up when he said he was a changed man, and because I loved you and was married to you, I believed YOU! It was YOU who convinced me to allow him to babysit Rose in order to earn my trust and because I was so blindly in love with you, I foolishly agreed! While James was out at a sleepover, and me and you were out on some stupid date, he was at his house with our daughter." Aro began to breathe in and out deeply. It was one of the first times he thought about everything involving the whole situation of the night that changed his life completely, "And then we went back to that house, and I sent you in because I couldn't face him. I wasn't ready to face him."

"Aro-" Lillian began.

"No," He pulled himself away and shook his head. The older man was fuming, and Lillian could tell, "You went in there and minutes later, you came out, holding our crying six year old daughter. You strapped her in the back of the car and you asked me to come outside. And then," his voice broke once again at the memory, "and then you sent me in there after explaining to me that Rose said he broke her arm because she didn't clear her plate correctly. You told me, that Rose said, he locked her, he locked our six year old daughter outside of the house for hours because she wasn't ready for bedtime. Every memory of what he did to me and my brothers went through my mind, and now him hurting an innocent six year old, just set me off. You riled me up, you pointed me in his direction and you set me loose."

Lillian took a step back and crossed her arms, "You can't blame me for that."

"You're right," Aro nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets, "I can't blame you for what I did, but I can partially blame you for what happened to Rose. You talked me into allowing my dad to babysit, and because of that, we ended that night with her at the hospital getting x-ray scans, and me locked behind bars. And the only reason our marriage didn't work out is because you never trusted me and my opinion, and you never stood by my side, especially when I needed you!"  
"No, our marriage didn't work out because you killed your father! You took your fists and you beat him until he was dead! THAT is what ended our marriage."

"I've always had anger problems, and as my wife, you were supposed to help me. You were supposed to keep me calm, and make sure I didn't do what I did, but you didn't. You pushed me in the direction of my dad, and you LEFT!"

"I left to take Rose to the hospital." Lillian began to explain, "She was in the car crying and I couldn't just leave her out there."

"And when you left me with my dad, he tormented me! He bragged about what he did to me and my brothers! He smiled as he told me about how he hurt Rose! That man set me off, but I was willing to do anything to protect my Rose and the only thing I regret about killing him, is the fact that I was out of my daughter's life for eight years."

Lillian walked pass her ex-husband, and held a tight grip on her purse, which held the document. She glanced down inside to assure her that it was still there, "Why are we even talking about this?"

"To remind you of the lengths I'm willing to go to protect my daughter."


	12. Web of Deceit

Renee zoned off, as a glaze fell over her eyes. She couldn't help but allow her mind to drift off to the day of Rosalie's attack. The older Swan had just gotten off of the phone with Rosalie, and she knew the young Hale was going to call her husband. Renee wanted…needed to beat her to it. She had dialed her husband's cell, but it went straight to voicemail. He had always answered his phone. In her continual panic, she grabbed her purse and raced down to the precinct that day.

She needed to find her husband because if he had heard it from anyone, but her, it would be no repairing their relationship. And she couldn't become the next divorcee in the town. After Lillian's divorce from Aro, she saw how the town temporarily treated her until her marriage to Royce Sr. occurred. Renee wasn't strong enough to go through it.

When Renee entered the building of her husband's employment, she checked each cubicle, but couldn't spot him. She checked the bathrooms, the closets and even the interrogation room, and he was nowhere in sight. She had questioned Brady, Phil, and every officer she had passed in her attempt to find him. Brady noticed the bloodshot eyes she possessed, and in his attempt to help her, he pulled her into his office. He talked to her, he comforted her, and he assured her that Charlie was okay. If he wasn't hurt, and none of the officers knew where he was, the only other option that could explain his disappearance was if he were having an affair.

She wasn't going to be a widow or a divorcee; she was going to be the wife of a man having an affair. The older Swan clenched her stomach, and took a seat in Commissioner Brady's office. The police commissioner attempted to assure the woman that he was positive that Charlie wasn't having an affair, but Renee didn't believe him. Officers stuck together, and everything pointed towards it. No one knew where he was, yet he said he was leaving for work. He had lied to her. After receiving a phone call, Brady Whitlock departed from his office and allowed for Renee to stay and wait for her husband.

In the time she waited, he had never shown back up. Eventually, after hours past, Brady finally showed up again, soaked in water due to the pouring rain. Phil had even come inside, drenched in water. Officers were rushing into the precinct in their attempt to get away from the storm escalating outside. And out of every officer that entered, none were her husband. Renee refused to leave until she spotted Charlie. He had some explaining to do. Brady had tried time and time again to convince the woman that her husband was probably just out running errands, but she continued to not believe him. Soon enough, Brady received another phone call through dispatch. Renee had heard news of Rosalie's attack from the police precinct. She was here, and her husband wasn't…and a day later when Brady had come to her to tell her that Charlie was guilty, she had every reason to believe him. He had no alibi. Every fiber of her being knew that he was the culprit.

Renee blinked out of the memory. Everyone had an alibi but Charlie. When she had the chance to question her husband, she had asked him where he was, but he avoided the subject. He simply brushed it off as, he was handling something important. She knew he was lying because he wouldn't look her in the eye. Renee had been married to him for years, and he had never deliberately lied to her face before. And it was that day that she kicked him out of the house with no explanation. Once he gives her some sort of reason, then she would too. Until then, he wasn't allowed to come back.

* * *

For the whole day, Emmett was locked in his bedroom. Both his mother and father tried various attempts to persuade him to open the door, but none were successful. He sat in his dark room and stared out of the window. Yesterday, he learned that his girlfriend of two years wasn't doing so well, and her status has yet to improve for the best. Due to this new information, Emmett couldn't bring himself to face anyone, especially those who cared about Rose just as much as he did. Another knock sounded on his door, and he continued to ignore it.

"Emmett, it's mom," Esme whispered through the wooden barrier, "…sweetie just open the door. We're worried about you." She waited on the other side for some type of indication that he heard her, but there was nothing, "I know you're not ready to let go. Honey, I know it hurts, but we'll get through this. And it is up to us as friends and family to help the Hales and the Kings get through their lost." Silence followed Esme's words. She pressed her opened palm against the door, "Sweetie please say something."

Esme turned away from the door and headed back downstairs. Seated around the table were Carlisle and Edward, and the two both looked at her with hope filled within their eyes. She silently shook her head, and took the empty seat across from her husband. Esme pushed the plate of food away from her, "I lost my appetite."

"Should I try again?" Carlisle rose from his seat.

"No," Esme shook her head, "He's not even talking, let alone going to open the door."

"I haven't tried."

The two parents turned to face their other son. Edward lifted his finished plate, and handed it over to his mother as she started to collect the dishes. Edward pushed in his seat, "Mom, you're a counselor, and dad you're one of the doctors who's going to unplug his girlfriend, I'm simply his brother. And I think he needs that right now."

Carlisle nodded for his son to give it a try. The older Cullen rose from his seat and began to help his wife clear the table, "Take Emmett's plate up." Edward reached for his brother's warm plate, before he set off for the stairwell. The eldest Cullen son raced up the stairs while carefully holding his brother's plate, his feet abruptly stopped a few inches from Emmett's closed and locked door. Edward inhaled as he closed in the distance, "Emmett," he started to knock with his free hand, "it's me. I have food. Mom made your favorite." There was no sound emitting from Emmett's room, "Dude, we're brothers. You can talk to me."

Edward didn't have to try as hard as his parents. Once he pulled the brother card, he heard Emmett unlock and open the door. He reached his hand out, took a hold of the plate, and allowed Edward to enter, "Talk to me about anything but Rose."  
"Okay," Edward agreed, closing the door behind him, "uh, the weather these past few days has been nice."

Emmett set his plate down, "You suck at idle chitchat."

"I planned for us to talk about Rose," Edward shrugged his shoulders. He looked around Emmett's room, and flicked on the lamp positioned at the corner of his desk, "I wasn't planning on having to come up with conversation."

"Why do you want to talk about her?" Emmett swallowed his first bite of food, "It's not like you care."

"Of course I do," Edward took a hold of the seat beside his brother, and when Emmett shook his head to deny his brother's admittance, Edward continued, "I really do Emmett. She's my friend."

Emmett pushed his plate away from him, as he angrily turned to face his brother, "If that were even close to being true, you would have visited her! You haven't seen her since she was first admitted into the hospital, and Edward that was TWO MONTHS ago! If you honestly believe you're her friend, then you have a horrible definition of that word."

"And I truly feel bad about that."

Emmett's face looked pained. Edward's apologies were doing nothing for him. Sometimes it's too late to apologize. Sometimes no matter how sincere you sound, they have no meaning to it. Emmett didn't want to hear how sorry Edward was, because it was too late. He didn't want to hear about how Edward feels bad; all he wants to hear are facts…are things that won't change. He glanced over at his mostly finished plate, "Why didn't you answer?"  
"What?" Edward gently asked.

"Rose called you to ask for a ride, and you didn't answer." Emmett quickly turned and glared forward at his brother, "What was so important that you couldn't pick up your damn phone?"

"Remember mom and dad had the car,"

"You still could've answered!"

The younger Cullen pressed his fingers into his dark curly hair. His eyes were strained and his face was pained as the tormented expression of grief crossed his face. Emmett didn't want to hear excuses; he wanted to hear the truth. "You're hardly around! Where are you going? Where have you been? You're never here Edward, so why are you around now?"

"Because you need me."

"I NEEDED YOU," he pressed his finger against his brother's chest, "two months ago!"

Edward gave in the moment he noticed his brother's rage increase, "I made a deal with Charlie. I have four months of community service to do and I do it out of town. I already did two; I have two more months to go."

"If you're just going to lie to my face, then you can save it and leave."

"I'm not lying," Edward admitted, taking a step back and crossing his arms, "after school, Charlie allows me to borrow his car in order to drive into the next town and serve community service at a rehab facility.

"…that makes no sense Edward."

"Charlie set it up for me as a way to help keep me clean."

"Clean? As in off of drugs?" Emmett stepped towards his brother confusedly.

The slow nod of Edward's head confirmed his answer, "By the time my volunteering is over for the day, and I make it back, visiting hours at the hospital are over." The older Cullen smiled down at the ground, "I do send her flowers though. When Lillian goes to visit, I send some in with her.

Emmett went over to his plate and began to pick pieces of food off of it. He took the fork and began to push around the vegetables, "I don't understand. Why is Charlie letting you borrow his car? Why are you volunteering out of town? Why are you volunteering at a rehab facility? Why do you have to do four months? Do mom and dad know? How come no one told me?"

"I got into some trouble two months ago."

"Two months ago?" Emmett dropped his fork onto his plate, "You got into trouble two months ago? Does it…does it have anything to do with Rose?"

"What," Edward squints.

"The trouble you got into Edward, does it have to do with MY girlfriend?!"

"No…no! No! Of course not, no! Why would you even think that?!"

"Well, what do you expect me to think when everything points to you? You don't visit her! You always disappear! And now you're telling me that you got into trouble around the time my girlfriend got hurt! What did you do?!"

"You can't tell mom or dad."

Edward's eyes pleaded with his brother. He stepped forward and rested his hand upon his brother's shoulder, "You have to promise me."

"Okay, fine. Whatever, what did you do?"

"Charlie caught me…doing, you know."

"Drugs"

Edward nodded quickly, before covering his face in embarrassment, "I know it was stupid. I don't need to hear the lecture because I already heard it from Charlie."

"When was this?"

"…the day Rose was attacked. It's why I didn't answer the phone."

"Wait," Emmett raised his hand to interrupt his brother, "Start from the beginning. I'm confused."

The eldest Cullen walked over to his brother's bed, and took a seat on the edge of it. As he avoided eye contact with Emmett, he started from the beginning, "Charlie caught me doing drugs. I don't want to go into detail about the kind of drugs, but when Charlie caught me, I panicked. I begged him to not take me in. If mom and dad found out, I would be grounded for the rest of my life, and not to mention, mom would put me in daily counseling." Emmett nodded to agree with his brother's last statement, "Charlie turned off his phone and just drove me around the town, warning me and giving me a lecture. The only reason he agreed to not tell mom and dad was if I volunteered at a rehab facility in order to see the effects that drugs has caused on someone's life. We didn't have one in Forks, so he agreed to let me borrow his car since he drives his police cruiser all the time."

"I don't understand," Emmett took a seat next to his brother, "When mom and dad picked me up from football practice so we could head to the hospital, you were with them."

"As we were driving around, we heard through dispatch about how Rose was attacked. Charlie needed to head back to work, so he dropped me off at home before going in. Mom and dad came home a few minutes later and asked did I want to come with them to pick you up, I agreed."

Emmett rose from the bed, and took a stand in front of his brother, "When they picked me up, we didn't find out until Lillian called and told us…and then we went to the hospital."

"I know."

"So, you knew the whole time, but said nothing!"

Edward nodded in agreement, "If I had said something, mom and dad would have questioned me on how I knew. We found out anyway. No harm, no foul. If I would have told them how I knew, they would have found out it was the drugs. I just did it once. I didn't think it would blow to this proportion."

Emmett pulled his brother to his feet, "Get out of my room." The oldest Cullen lifted Emmett's finished plate, and began to head to the closed, but unlocked door. Before he could open it, Esme and Carlisle walked through the door, "We need to go." Esme's voice was broken, "We have to get to the hospital."

"What happened?" Emmett pushed past Edward in order to get to his mother.

She gave Carlisle a look, and nodded for him to answer their son's question, "I just got a call from Jeremy. Lillian thought about it, and she's signed the papers. The plug is being pulled when everyone gets to the hospital."

At his father's words, Emmett's shoulders slumped forward as his mom cradled his large form in her arms. He cried into her shoulder while her comforting hands ran circles against his back.

* * *

Royce Sr. stood at the foot of the hospital bed. His eyes glazed over and his white hands wrapped around the bar of the hospital bed. In his peripheral he could see his wife leaning over her daughter's body, weeping into the thin fabric of Rose's hospital gown. He looked over at Dr. Brandon, holding up the signed document, "I'm going to file this, and then I'll come back and we'll start the process." Once he exited the room, Royce Sr. approached his wife, "You know it isn't too late to change your mind."

His words were ignored as the volume of Lillian's cries increased. Esme and Joan stepped around the mayor in order to comfort their friend. Esme's hand rubbed soothing circles into Lillian's back, as Joan attempted to whisper comforting words into Mrs. Hale's ear, "Rose is going to be angel who looks over all of us for the rest of our lives."

Lillian pulled away, and her head remained pressed against her daughter's chest, "I don't want her to be an angel," she tightened her hold around Rosalie, "I want her to be here!"

Fighting the urge to say something, Aro remained silent. He stood at the other side of his daughter with her hand lightly placed within his. If only he had paid attention, his signature would have been needed. In the divorce papers, there was an addition that he wasn't aware of. When he signed the divorce papers, he unknowingly signed over his parental rights. Years later when he found out and tried to fight it, he wasn't successful. He just hoped that there would never be a time in which it would be used against him. And now, as he stands next to his barely alive daughter, he couldn't help but blame himself. If only he had read every word, he wouldn't have signed, and he would have had a say in the matter of his daughter's health. Aro watched as Royce Sr. reacted to the news more than him.

As he looked around the room and took in everyone's emotions, Royce Sr. felt his heart speed up. He avoided the hospital because he couldn't bear to see Rose in the state she was in, and not to mention, his career as a mayor left him busy. When he talked things over with Lillian about signing the withdrawal form, he felt it was for the best. Rose would have peace, and her family and friends would eventually find it, but now, knowing that today is the day, and that in the next hour, his step-daughter would be deceased, left him feeling strangled. He felt torn. Royce Sr. backed away from his wife, Esme and Joan, "I can't watch this!" He looked around the room, and earned the attention of everyone present, "Lillian, maybe you should think about this more. There's no rush. She's been in a coma for two months and she isn't going anywhere!" The door opens, and his son, Royce Jr. enters with James and Victoria following closely behind.

"I can't watch this," the older King murmured while turning on his heel.

"Wait," Lillian surprisingly pulled away from her daughter. She pushed past her friends, raced up to her husband and took a hold of his hand, "Please, you can't leave me! I need you! I need you to stay with me! I can't go through this without you! I can't do this alone! Please baby-"

"You'll be fine," he withdrew his hand from her hold, "I can't watch this. I have to prepare what I'm going to say during the press conference. Everyone will want updates tonight."

"You're going to leave me alone!"

"I'm sorry," he shrugged his shoulders, "your son is here," his eyes glanced over to Royce Jr., "and your stepson is here too. I'm sure he can offer you some comfort. I'm sorry Lillian." The mayor turned on his heel and exited the room, leaving Lillian standing in the middle of the hospital room. Her head hung low as she heard Aro's voice, "Some husband you have, he can't watch her die and it's not even his kid."

Lillian tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear, "At least he apologizes for leaving." The blonde mother made her way back to her daughter's bedside.

When the door re-opened and Dr. Brandon entered, Alice chose to approach her dad. They all cared for Rosalie and it wasn't fair that Lillian was the only one who could decide Rose's fate without considering everyone else who cared for the seventeen year old. The youngest Brandon took a rough hold of her dad's arm, "Daddy, isn't there something else we can do. There has to be another option." At the end of her plea, the door opened once more.

Each individual turned to look because everyone was already accounted for. Lillian had hope that it was her husband returning, but as she watched Renee, Bella, Brady and Charlie enter the room, that hope quickly departed. The small hospital room was filled with people who cared for Rosalie, and knowing that, Lillian felt her heart swell up with appreciation and gratitude. Aro didn't care about the amount of people in the room. He knew all of them honestly probably didn't care. They were here to save face. If Lillian and Rosalie's supposed friends didn't show, word would spread around town, and Aro knew that was something many people prided themselves on. While Lillian made her way around to greet everyone, Aro remained at his daughter's side.

"Thank you everyone for coming out, on this," Lillian glanced out at the storm brewing outside, "dreary day. It really means a lot to me, and I know if Rose were here, it would mean a lot to her." Besides Jeremy, Lillian, James, Victoria, Aro, Esme, Joan, Royce Jr., Alice and Jasper, those present in the hospital room also included, Emmett, Edward, Marcus, Caius, Carlisle, Bella, Renee, Charlie, Brady, Sue, Jacob, Billy, and a few classmates from the high school. It was definitely a full house, and the Kings greatly appreciated it.

Jasper's father, Brady, stepped towards his longtime friend, "Lil, where's Royce Sr.?"

"He got emotional," Joan answered for her friend, "and he had to leave."

Brady approached his son, and rested his hands against Jasper's shoulders. He noticed the red and puffiness in his son's eyes, and knew that he had been crying. Everyone in this full room would comfort each other, and he knew his son would be comforted by his girlfriend. The older Whitlock held his son tight in his arms, "Son, I'm going to go after my friend. Will you be okay?"

"I understand," Jasper nodded, watching as his father jogged out of the hospital room. Jasper truly did understand. He wished he had gone after his friend the day she was attacked.

At her bedside, Aro leaned forward, and pressed a lingering kiss against his daughter's head, "I failed you," he started to whisper in her ear, "and for that I will never forgive myself." He allowed the chattering of the people around him to drown out his words. As long as Rosalie could hear, he was content. His words were meant for her ears, and her ears only. Aro ran his fingers against the top of his daughter's blonde hair, as he gathered up enough strength to continue, "Your death and the fact that your attacker is still out there will haunt me for the rest of your…I mean my life. You've always helped me maintain and handle my anger, and even though I know you are gone, you would want me to keep my cool, not blame anyone and focus on the happy times we've shared, but…but I can't. I just can't!" The break in his voice silenced everyone in the room. Rosalie's friends wanted to comfort their friend's dad, but they weren't used to seeing him like this. They didn't know how he would react. His face was red from crying, not from anger. This was a side of Aro that only his daughter got to see, and now he was unintentionally showing them.

His shoulders shook, as tears continued to trail down his face, "I know you would want me to stay calm, but no!" His voice was louder, and he knew that everyone was listening, but he didn't care. "You wouldn't want me to blame anyone even though there are people who deserve it," he temporarily pulled his eyes away from his daughter, and flashed his glare into the direction of Lillian, Dr. Brandon and Rose's friends, "and I know you would want me to focus on the good times we shared, but how can I when we won't share anymore!" He heard the machine as it continued to guide his daughter in her breathing, "I can't let go." His voice was low and before he repeated, it raised to a higher octave, "I can't let go!" He looked over to the crowded room.

"Come on Aro," Carlisle placed his hand against the older Hale's shoulder, "I know it's hard-"

"No you don't know!"

Esme stepped forward, "This is going to happen sweetie, and you have to come to terms with it." The counselor sets her hand upon Aro's and tries to gently pull it away.

"Aro we need to start," Dr. Brandon sets his hand upon Aro's opposite shoulder, while Carlisle's hand remained against the other.

"How about-" Charlie's words were interrupted when Aro spoke.

"Get off of me," his voice growled, forcing everyone to let go, "the next person who touches me will end up like my father."

"You wouldn't hurt anyone," Lillian spoke up softly.

Aro didn't pull his eyes away from his daughter, "Why wouldn't I?" His hold tightened around Rose's hand, "She was the only reason why I did everything I could to stay out of prison. Now that she's gone," his shoulders shrug, "there's nothing holding me back."

Dr. Brandon managed to squeeze pass Aro and approach the machine. Dr. Cullen approached the other side of Rosalie, and readied himself to remove the tubes from her mouth. He would leave the one in her neck since that needed precision and special care to remove. Everyone stood shoulder to shoulder as they surrounded the bed. During the side conversation, Sue had offered to pray for Rosalie during the process, and Lillian happily agreed. You could never have too many prayers. Hands were held, and heads were lowered. Aro had refused to close his eyes, lower his head and take anyone's hand besides his daughter. For two months, everyone prayed for her, including Aro, but she remained in a coma, and she hadn't gotten any better. Aro gave up on prayers. He didn't believe in them anymore. They've never worked for him…not when he was a child getting beat by his father, and not while he is an adult praying over his daughter's comatose body.

"We love you, we trust you, and we believe that you, our Lord do not make mistakes," Aro began to drown out Sue's prayer as he watched Carlisle slowly remove the breathing tube. He could hear Dr. Brandon behind him handling the ventilator. He knew within seconds he would hear the ventilation machine turn off, and when a loud beep surrounded the room, he knew the machine was powered down. One of the breathing tubes now rested in Carlisle's hands. The one connected to her neck no longer sent oxygen into her body because the ventilator it was attached to was turned off. Emmett was the first to open his eyes, and he immediately pulled away. He could hear the heart machine speeding up. Everyone else's eyes followed, and turned away from the dying girl as she took a strangled, last breath. Aro dropped to his knees, never once letting go of his daughter's hand as the heart machine laid out a long and constant noise signaling the flat-line running across the heart monitor.

Carlisle looked at Rosalie's attending physician, "You should call time of death."

**-Tiffany.**


	13. The Youngest Hale

Within seconds of the flat lining heart machine, it suddenly began to beep. It was a constant and continuous beeping noise, forcing Aro to tear his eyes away from the floor and land on the heart machine. Instead of seeing the flat-line race across the heart monitor, he noticed the line peak every few seconds. If this was a joke, Aro didn't find it funny. Within seconds of the flatlining heart monitor, Lillian notices the rise and falls of her daughter's chest. The tube was no longer inserted in her mouth, and the ventilator was turned off and therefore that meant one thing. Her daughter was breathing on her own. She didn't know if this was real, but if it was a dream, she didn't want to wake up from it.

The brows of everyone in the room furrowed, as they looked to Carlisle and Jeremy for answers. No one's eyes rested upon Rosalie, and as a result, each person jumped away when the seventeen year old gasped loudly for a breath of air. Her breath was strangled as her body flew forward into a seating position. The gasp of air was needed and once it registered within her body, her upper body faintly and roughly fell back down. Rose's eyes remained closed through the ordeal, and her senses and reflexes were weak and somewhat unresponsive as her body struggled to awaken the teenager.

Everyone suddenly surrounded the bed again. Aro's hands still remained wrapped around his daughter's hand. He refused to let go. Emmett approached the opposite side of his girlfriend, and gently ran his fingers through her hair, "Rose, if you can hear the sound of my voice, give me a sign." There was no response. The only thing that alerted them of her still being alive was her breathing, the constant beeping of the heart machine, and the fact that she sat up for seconds to gather a large intake of breath. It was all a sign. Emmett takes her face in his hands, and turns her head to face him, "Rose."

At the sound of her name, her eyes immediately open. She rips her hands from the hold of her father and Emmett. Her body thrashes wildly, and her hands begin struggling to yank out the IVs and the breathing tube in her neck. "Stop her," Dr. Brandon ordered, as he temporarily rushed out of the room. James and Jasper took a hold of her legs, and began to hold them down, as Aro, Lillian, Emmett and Alice struggled to hold down her upper body. The seventeen year old screamed as her body struggled to rip herself free. She screamed at the top of her lungs as her body began thrashing against the bed. She tried to kick her legs, but the hold of James and Jasper, and eventually Royce Jr., Jacob, Marcus and Caius prevented her from doing so.

"She's strong," Jacob muttered, trying to hold down Rosalie's leg.

Carlisle approached calmly, "Rosalie, it's us. It's your family and friends. We're not here to hurt you. We're trying to help you, but you have to calm down." His words weren't heard as Rosalie continued to thrash and scream at the top of her lungs. The dried blood against the corners of her mouth and embedded into some of her blonde hair made her look animalistic. Carlisle didn't want her screaming to disrupt the endotracheal tube in her throat.

As she combatively panicked and fought against her family and friends, Dr. Brandon re-entered the room. In his hands were arm restraints, and in a swift movement, he handed one over to Carlisle before approaching the left side of his patient. As the family held the struggling girl down, he wrapped the thick limb holder around her wrist and connected it with the side railing of her bed. Once he made sure it was tied tight, he looked up to see Carlisle doing the same with Rose's right wrist.

At the nod of the doctors' heads, each person released their hold on Rosalie. While she struggled to pull her wrists free, her legs kicked wildly. Her eyes remained wild and filled with fear and panic as she tried to free herself. She yanked and pulled, turned and twisted, but nothing worked. She was forced to lie back, but she refused to lay still. Her screaming grew in volume as the discomfort of the tube and the IVs began to increase. The restraints are tight, and they seem to tighten even more when she tries to twists her wrists free. She kicks her legs violently in the air in her attempts to get free, but nothing worked. Her screams mixed with her loud cries, and the tears soaked into the shaded discoloring on her face from the swelling that went down and the bruises that seemed to remain from the attack two months ago.

In a desperate attempt to calm her down, Dr. Brandon reaches into his pocket and pulls out a needle. While he was retrieving the restraints, he picked up a sedative. He silently inserted the needle into the IV and watched as within seconds the teenager calmed down. Her body stopped thrashing, as it weakened. She laid back and allowed her eyes to drift close.  
"What did you do?" Lillian rushed up to her daughter's side.  
"I had to sedate her. She was going to hurt herself."

Lillian wiped the tears off of her daughter's face, "She was asleep for two months, and now that she wakes up, you're sending her back to sleep."  
"She wasn't asleep, she was in a coma. There's a difference," Carlisle explained.

Royce Jr. took in everyone's shocked looks, and approached, "Does that mean she's okay? Will she wake-up from this? She'll be alright, right."  
"We'll know when she wakes up," Dr. Brandon answered, as the door opened. Lauren entered with Eric, and the two were ready to properly remove the tube from Rose's neck.

Aro stood in shock. He watched the entire scene, and was speechless. He didn't blink. He didn't speak. He didn't move. He knew she was a fighter. Hales were always fighters. As the two nurses removed the tube, Aro took this time to take a look around the room. Sue was in the corner praying thankfully with Joan, Billy and Jacob. The students from Rose's school who came by had stepped out, and from Victoria's conversation beside him to James, they had went to make phone calls to their family about Rose. Alice and Jasper were hugging tightly and crying appreciatively. Emmett couldn't tear his eyes away from Rose, and stood next to her bed waiting for the nurses to finish. Renee and Bella had kept a good distance from Rosalie, and while Charlie wanted to approach, his wife would always pull him back. Everyone just brushed it off to Renee not wanting Charlie to interrupt. Carlisle and Jeremy stood close, and watched carefully as the nurses slowly removed the tube. Edward stood with his mother, Esme, fighting against the urge to comfort his girlfriend. The last time he spoke to her was the day after the attack. He hardly saw her since then, and she wouldn't answer any of his phone calls. Aro's brothers Marcus and Caius stood beside him, and his older brother threw his arm around Aro's shoulder as Caius smiled gratefully as he watched his niece sleep peacefully.  
"Okay, it's removed." Lauren stated, handing the tube over to Eric for him to dispose of it.  
"Now that that's settled," Aro decided to finally speak up. He glanced over to his daughter's doctor, "I want answers. How?" He turned back to his daughter.

Sue stepped forward to answer him, "It's a miracle Aro."

"I don't believe in them."

"You don't believe in something that is obviously right in front of you," Sue argued, as Billy took a hold of her hand.

"You're in charge of bible study today. Let's go spread the news and continue to pray. It's been a long day and we're all a little wiped out."

Sue gave her husband a nod as he wheeled himself out of the hospital room. She gave Aro a nod of the head, before passing an encouraging smile to everyone in the room, "Keep me updated Joan."

"Of course," Alice's mother replied.

Seconds later Sue exited the room, as Jacob gave Rose one last look, "They're my ride and I promised Sue that I'll make a bigger effort to go to church." Jacob waved once more before leaving.

"I'm back on shift," Victoria informed James, "I'll be down the hall at the front desk. Please keep me updated on your sister." She pecked James cheek as she backed away from the veteran.

The last to leave were Caius and Marcus who had promised to find Commissioner Brady and Mayor King. to inform them of the good news. Everyone knew how wrecked Royce Sr. felt, and learning that she's okay would definitely turn his day around. Brady spent the time comforting his best friend, most likely giving him assurances of things that weren't true, and now when Caius and Marcus inform him as well, he'll be able to tell Royce Sr. how he was right.  
"How long will she be out?" James stood at the end of his sister's bed.

Dr. Brandon glanced at the clock, "Not long. I didn't give her the whole dose…I just gave her enough to keep her calm for when she wakes up."

"How is this possible? You said the scans show she had no brain activity. You said the tests all came back bad. How is my daughter still here? How is she," Lillian glanced down at a sleeping Rosalie, "how is she still alive?"

"I said she had little to no brain activity. I told you that just because we withdraw her from the ventilator doesn't mean she'll die. Our tests aren't always accurate, especially since we rarely use the machines. We're a small town hospital, and we've never really needed to use them. She was the first patient in history to come to our hospital in such a…awful state."

"That shouldn't matter," Lillian's voice quivered, "you should have been prepared for anything! Now, I don't want any mistakes from here on out."

"Surprisingly, Lillian and I are in agreement about something," Aro spoke up taking a forceful step towards his resting daughter. He leaned over and kissed Rose's forehead. While it pained him to see her restrained, he was just grateful and thankful that she was alive. He had all the faith in her. He knew she would pull through. Dr. Brandon understood. He would feel the exact same way if it were his daughter.

As silent minutes continued to pass, they received a nice welcoming when her bright blue eyes opened. The bright light blinded her and she squinted temporarily. Once her eyes registered to the light, she opened them wider, and her parents could see the panic in them. Rosalie started to breathe deeply as she scanned everyone in the room. When she tried to cover her face out of fear and confusion, she realized that her arms were restrained. She inhaled a loud breath and released it frightfully.

"Don't freak out," Alice gently whispered to her friend. She approached Rose's bed, and rested a comforting hand upon her best friend's leg.

"Do you know who we are?" Dr. Cullen stepped forward, and as a result Rosalie's head whips in his direction. It shakes up and down panicky. He gave her a signature smile that Emmett seemed to genetically get from his father, "Okay that's good." His voice is low as Dr. Brandon steps forward to speak.

"What's wrong? You can talk now. It shouldn't hurt. The tube is gone."

Rosalie tries to feel for the tube, but eventually remembers that her arms are restrained. She tries to take a glance down, but she's unable to see her neck. Now that Rosalie was conscious, Renee felt afraid. The girl could possibly identify her estranged husband as the attacker. Renee shared a look with Bella, and she knew her daughter thought the same. Bella took a hold of her dad's hand, "Maybe you should head into work."

"I don't need to go in now."

Bella poked her lip out and pouted, "Don't you think all of us will overwhelm her."

"Actually, Bella you're right," Joan spoke up, lifting her purse, "I think the fewer of us, the better. I just need for you honey," she points at Alice, "to keep me updated on every single detail." Alice nods.

"Rose's friends should stay with us, and you too Esme. You're a counselor and it's probably best-"  
Aro interrupts his ex-wife, "She just woke up Lillian. Give her some time to get herself together before you start trying to shove counseling down her throat."

"I'm not, I'm just thinking about what's best for my daughter."

"Oh, because you always know what's best for her, just like you knew unplugging the machine is what's best for her."

"She's here, isn't she?" Lillian hollered, crossing her arms.

Renee grabbed Charlie's arm, and quietly followed Joan out of the room. Bella was prepared to follow, but Edward grabbing onto her, prevented her from leaving, "I think you should stay."

Bella's eyes drifted over to Rose, and the guilt that simmered at the pit of her stomach tore at her, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"It wouldn't hurt. Come on Bella." Edward pleaded, gently tugging his girlfriend over towards the bed.

The young girl's eyes observed the room. She was trying to take in her surroundings, but her location wasn't registering. She didn't know where she was, and the people bickering around her made her even more confused.  
"Rose, what's wrong?" Jasper stepped forward this time, and placed his hand against her opposite leg.

"Where am I?"

Aro grins madly at the comforting sound of his daughter's voice. While it sounded pained, scratchy, sad and fragile, he just appreciated the fact that he was able to hear it again. Her eyes scanned the room again, and she struggled to tear her arms free, but the restraints continued to hold her arms in place.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Brandon turned away from her in order to check the stats on the machine.

After a brief hesitation, she weakly responded, "I have a really bad headache."

"Is that normal?" Aro turns to face Jeremy.

"It's normal," Dr. Brandon nods, assuredly, "because of the amount of trauma she received to the head. She's still healing, and she has a long road ahead of her."

"Where am I?" The seventeen year old repeats her earlier question.

James stepped forward, "…the hospital," he gave her his signature grin as he took a gentle seat at the corner of the bed.  
"Why?" She looked back and forth between her parents for answers.

Aro laid it out honestly, "You were attacked." He didn't want to beat around the bush. He wanted to give her as much information as possible in order for her to gather herself, remember and tell him what he needs to know in order to go after her assaulter. When he told her, he expected for it to register easily, but instead, he heard the heart monitor race.

The youngest Hale inhaled and exhaled loud breaths as she tried to pull her arms free. James remained seated at the end of the bed, and pats his hand against her leg soothingly. Her eyes widened to a greater distance as she stared into her father's identical orbs, "I was attacked! Who attacked me?"

"That's what we want to know from you Rosie," Lillian spoke up, cupping her daughter's face in a nurturing manner, "We weren't able to figure it out."

"I…I don't remember," Rosalie looked into her mother's worried gaze. Lillian had to tear her eyes away from her daughter for a moment in order to look at the doctors, "Why can't she remember?"

"It isn't medical." Carlisle informed.

Esme came forward, "It's psychological," she interrupted, "Sometimes when traumatic things happen to us our brain makes us forget. It's a coping mechanism. It's a way that we protect ourselves." Emmett's mother continued to walk forward, while smiling calmly, "It's so nice to see you again."

"Why are you acting like I've been gone?"

"Because you have," Emmett set his hand upon Rose's restrained right arm, "you've been in a coma for two months Rose."

The heart rate monitor began to speed up as Rosalie inhaled and exhaled repeatedly. She looked around, waiting for someone to tell her that Emmett was just kidding, but no one said anything. Rosalie ignored the severe headache expanding in her brain as she stared at the clock positioned on the wall. Underneath that clock, there was a calendar. It was mid-to-late April. There had to be some mistake.

"Daddy," Rose looked to him. Aro always had a way to make her feel better. He always had a way to fix things. And at the sound of her desperately saying his title, his heart broke because he knew that this was one thing he couldn't fix. He couldn't rewind time.

Aro pushed those closest to him out of the way, and crouched down beside his daughter. He set his hand on the back of her head, "I'm here Rosalie. I'm always here. I will always be here." She starts to cry, and he uses his thumb to wipe away the tear drops, "I will be at your side the whole step of the way. I promise. No one will be able to tear me away from your bedside."

"Why would someone do that to me?"

Her father leaned over, and pressed a lingering kiss to her slightly bruised forehead, "I don't know, but I made a promise to this town, that I will find out. I will make that same promise to you baby girl. You're my life-vest kid."

"And that means I won't let you sink." She finished, taking a calming breath. Her father stared firmly in her eyes, and she knew that everything he said was the truth.

"Can't we take these restraints off?" Aro turned to face the two doctors.

"Rosalie, you have to promise us that you won't try to pull out your IVs."

She gave a quick nod, "I…I promise."

The family and friends stood back as Dr. Brandon and Dr. Cullen swiftly undid the restraints. Once the two doctors stepped away, Aro raced to his daughter and pulled her into a hug, "I love you baby girl."

"I love you too daddy!"

Lillian smiled at the scene as her hand gently rubbed circles into her daughter's back. When Rose and Aro finished up, Lillian stepped in for a hug, and the two hugged just as hard as Aro and Rose did. While in her daughter's embrace, Lillian pecked her cheek, "I missed you so much! I love you so much! I thought I had lost you!"

"I'm still here," Rose assured, as the hug ended.

"I know everyone wants to get some time in with sleeping beauty, but we need to take her to run some more tests." Dr. Brandon stepped forward and unlocked the wheels on the bed. He and Carlisle were going to wheel her to the other wing in order to run their tests.

"I didn't get to talk to everyone," she whispered, adjusting herself in the bed, "Will you all be here when I get back?"

"We have nowhere else we'd rather be." Alice answered, waving her friend off.

**-Tiffany.**


	14. Soulless Heart

As the next day approached since Rose woke up, the town's church filled up. Townspeople arrived to pray and give thanks in regards to the seventeen year old's second chance at life. Regardless of what Aro said, it was a miracle. Bella exited the church with Edward hot on her heels. Even though yesterday he convinced her to stay in the hospital, and she actually spoke more than one word to him, she still wasn't on good terms. She was vulnerable. While she did agree that Rose needed everyone, Bella needed someone as well. She needed him, her boyfriend. All she had during the two months was an alcoholic and insecure mother, and a rapist father.

"Can you just talk to me?" He grabbed onto her arm and turned her around.

The bright afternoon sun beamed upon the two high school students. Church was letting out soon and Edward really wanted to talk to her and clear the air before her parents came out. His father was at the hospital keeping a watchful eye on Rosalie as his mother remained there with Lillian and Aro just in case Rose wanted to talk. All of them doubted it because she didn't even know the extent of her assault. No one had the courage or the heart to tell her the entire truth.

"About what," She finally stopped trying to walk away, "What is so important that we need to talk right now?"

"Why won't you let me in?"

Bella felt her eyes begin to water, "You have no idea what I've been through these last two months. You have no clue what my mother and I are going through."

"Tell me." He stepped closer to her.

"I can't," she blinked through her tears, "You wouldn't look at me the same."

His thumb brushed her tears away, "There's nothing you can say to me that'll make me look at you any differently."

"You say that now Edward," all of the tears came back.

Edward grabbed a hold of his girlfriend and directed her towards the closest bench. She wiped her church dress down, and took a seat beside him. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and he pressed a kiss against her head, "What can I do to convince you to open up to me?"

"Nothing," she stared forward and her eyes glazed over. The bright sun burned into her orbs forcing her to turn away and face him, "It's too bad. I'm a horrible person."

"Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I have to be," her voice shouted and trembled, "I have to be because what I did can't be undone. And the sad part about it is, what I did, I would do it again because he's my family."

"He?" Edward picked up, and decided to probe for more answers, "Family? Who? Are you talking about your dad?"

"I've said enough," she rose to her feet.

Edward reached out and grabbed her wrist, "Wait!" He managed to stop her before she walked away, "What if I tell you something that I did that I'm not proud of? Would you consider telling me what you did? You need to tell someone or you'll just drive yourself crazy!"

"What's the worst thing you could have done?"

His head bowed, "Drugs." Edward refused to make eye contact as Bella registered his two month absence in her life, "Is that why we've hardly saw each other? You're an addict?"

"NO!"

The Cullen son wanted to make himself very clear. He is not an addict. He tried drugs one time and that was it. As he began replaying the story of him using once and getting caught by none other than her dad, he noticed the shift of expression. The pain and the sadness slowly drifted away as he led into how her father drove him around the town while lecturing him. Her heart tore into pieces as he informed her that Charlie convinced him to volunteer at a rehab facility outside of town in exchange for being arrested. Bella's heart rate began to increase as she listened to her boyfriend tell her how he made Charlie promise to not say a word to anyone, including herself and her mom. And what caused for her to fall down onto her knees was the information that Edward was with Charlie for hours the day of Rose's attack. Edward found out about Rosalie's attack with her dad through dispatch. Edward was her father's alibi, and that could only mean that her dad was innocent.

"I need to be alone." She muttered, slowly backing away from Edward.

"Don't say anything!"

He stood up and reached out for her, but she turned away. Edward didn't think his one-time drug use would spark this reaction. Bella paced back and forth, running her fingers through her brunette hair. She knew her father wasn't capable of doing such a heinous act, especially upon one of her closest friends. The youngest Swan sat down upon the roadside curb, "That's why he never acted guilty," her body rocked back and forth, "because he wasn't guilty. I just thought he wasn't remorseful. I didn't even give him the benefit of the doubt."

Church let out and she immediately spotted her mother exiting the building talking with Joan. She rose to her feet and raced over to the older Swan, "Mom, we need to talk. It's important."

"Bella, can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation."

"Mom, we need to talk," her voice lowered, "now."

Joan understood and walked off to give her daughter a phone call. She wanted to check in on Alice since she spent the night at the hospital.

"What is it?" Renee turned to face her daughter.

Before Bella could fill her mother in, she noticed Brady exiting the church with Royce Sr. She didn't want to alert the mayor, so she grabbed her mother's wrist, walked towards Brady, and slyly grabbed his arm, "What's going on?" Brady looked at Renee for an answer, but all she could do was shrug her shoulders. Bella said nothing as she pulled her mother and the commissioner behind the church building.  
"Tell us what's going on!" Renee hollered, ripping her arm from her daughter's hold.

"Mom," Bella looked around to make sure no one was near, "Brady lied to us."

Brady stepped forward, "What?"

"Dad is innocent," Bella spoke up, cutting off Brady and sparking her mother's attention, "I was just with Edward and he was opening his heart to me, and he was with dad the day of Rose's attack."

"No," Renee shook her head, refusing to believe her daughter's words, "I went to the precinct and no one knew where Charlie was! He was gone for hours and he told no one where he was going or who he was with!"

"That's because Edward swore him to secrecy!"

"Why wouldn't he say anything?" Renee muttered in a low and fearful voice.

Bella walked up to her mother, "He never had reason to. He didn't know he was a suspect. We never confronted him. Mom, we got rid of evidence because we thought it would tie the crime to dad. We should have talked to him about it before we jumped to conclusions."

Renee inhaled a sharp breath and closed her eyes, "I need a drink." Her hands gripped her short hair as she pulled her eyes open, "Bella, we didn't jump to conclusions," she turned to face Brady, "he told us that Charlie did it."

Brady raised his hands into the air, "That's because the evidence pointed to him. I didn't know."

"What evidence?" Bella questioned, crossing her arms.

"Now you ask questions," Brady smirked, shaking his head, "You were quick to believe it was your father, and now you want to ask questions."

"Did you intentionally lie to me?"

The commissioner looked to Renee, "I don't have to answer to you."

"We'll see about that," Bella growled, pulling out her cell phone, "I'll just call the police."

"And then what?" Brady smirked, leaning against the outside wall of the church, "you'll tell them how I told you I _thought _Charlie did it? Just make sure you also tell them how you stole and destroyed the only evidence we had to identify and convict Rosalie's attacker."

Renee's mouth trembled, "You were MY friend!"

Bella began to pace circles in front of the two adults. Her hand was pressed against her forehead as her mind filled with a variety of thoughts. Her pacing quickened as she thought about the state Rosalie was brought to the hospital in, "Did you do that to her? Did you rape and beat up Rose?"

"Why would you think that?"

"You did." Renee frowned.

"No," Brady shook his head and smiled, "I was at the police station…with you, remember?"

"But you left out."

"For all of what… half an hour? I would need more time than that. And the time I left out, don't match the time of her assault. She was attacked around two pm. I left the station at three, and I was back at four."

"Don't bullshit me Brady. You may not have done it, but you obviously know who did!" Renee stood eye level with the commissioner and shoved him back, "You know who did it!"

"It's your word against mine. I _thought _I knew who did it, and since Charlie is innocent, now I don't know who did it."

"You're a psychopath who's obviously protecting someone."

Brady stood up straight and adjusted his suit, "And you both are selfish criminals who have no regards for anyone's best interests, but your own. You were willing to have Charlie be free than help," he points at Bella, "your best friend and," he turns and points at Renee, "your best friend's daughter. We were better off thinking Charlie did it, and just be prepared to know that if I go down, you two are going down with me."

* * *

Lillian turned her head away as she held the small trashcan up to her daughter's face for the umpteenth time. Aro held Rosalie's hair back tightly as she regurgitated into the bin once more, "This is embarrassing," she took a grip of the trashcan and pulled it in closer as she released the contents of her stomach.

"You don't have to worry about being embarrassed in front of us," Lillian gave her daughter a loving smile that was only reserved for her children. She scrunched her nose up as she took a hold of the full trash bin.

Rose sat back and cradled her stomach, "I feel horrible. This is torture." James took a hold of the trashcan and handed it over to Lauren for her to empty.

Aro released her blonde locks, "She's been nauseous since yesterday when she woke up, and she's been vomiting since this morning. What's going on?"  
"She also still has the severe headaches." Lillian added.  
Emmett tucked the blanket around his girlfriend, "And she has trouble swallowing."

"Rosalie is still receiving her daily amount of nutrients because of the feeding tube." Lauren informed, tying the trash bag, "It's a temporary feeding tube, but it'll remain there until she's able to swallow and chew." Lauren stepped out of the room.

Lillian turned to her ex-husband, "That didn't answer our question."  
"The hospital staff and the police officers in this town are useless." Aro pulled a seat up to his daughter's bed.

Rosalie rested her hand against her forehead. Her head was pounding so hard that it felt as if her brain was gasping for breath. Rose couldn't wait for her body to fully heal because her head has been throbbing since the moment she woke up. She ignored her temporary blurry vision as she blinked through the haze. The seventeen year old pulled the covers fully up to her neck, "Can I see a mirror?"  
"Why?" Alice stepped forward.  
"Why do people use mirrors Alice?"  
Emmett smirked, "My girl is definitely back."

"I just," Alice slowly pulled a mirror out of her purse, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Do I really look that bad?" Rose extended her hand for the traveling size hand mirror. She slowly opened the mirror and as her eyes registered her appearance she gasped. Her fingers brushed against the light bruising on her face. The battered area surrounding her nose, mouth and upper cheek bones were numb. When her fingers touched them, she could barely feel the contact. Fortunately, she didn't have to see how she looked during the first month of her coma. Her eyes took in the healing cuts on her face and the white bandage wrapped around her head. Eventually when her fingers left her face, they fell upon her grungy hair, "I look-"

Before she could finish Esme stepped in, "beautiful. You look beautiful Rosalie."

"You don't have to lie to me Esme," Rosalie gave her a kind smile; "I'm a big girl. I can take it."

Aro leaned onto his daughter's bed, "Esme is right. Just because you're a little banged up doesn't mean you're not beautiful."

"I have my own blood in my hair," the crack in her voice broke the hearts of her family and friends, "Is there any part of me that this person didn't attack?"

"Your feet," Alice joked, trying to cheer up her best friend.

However, it didn't work. Rosalie's shoulders shook as she released a muffled cry. The sound and the strength of her wailing were subdued due to her pressing the blanket against her face, "I looked this way two months after my attack. I'm afraid to ask how I looked when I was brought in."

"Please don't," Lillian whispered, blinking through the terrible memory.

"Well, what do the police think? Do they have any leads? Any evidence? Anything?"

"Rose they don't." Emmett stepped forward, and took a hold of his girlfriend's cold hand, "They questioned a few people in order to get a time frame for when you were attacked, but that's about it."

"Was I robbed?"

"Pardon?" Aro asked, standing up straight.

Rosalie took a look around and made eye contact with everyone, before responding, "When I was beat up, was I robbed?"

"No," Jasper answered, "Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out why this happened. Someone randomly beat me up and dumped me somewhere to die for no reason? That doesn't make sense! Are you all sure that nothing was taken from me? Money? Jewelry? What did this person want? They had to have wanted something, right?" Rose's bright eyes pleaded with those around her, "No one is that cruel. No one would just hurt me without a reason. Would they?"

"I heard you had questions," Dr. Brandon entered the hospital room, cutting off any response to Rose's question; "Lauren filled me in. Her difficulty swallowing is most likely due to the breathing tube that she had in her for months. Her throat is probably still sore from that." Jeremy approached the machine and jotted down the numbers lit up across it, "As for the headaches, she's still healing from the brain damage, and the vomiting is probably due to the change of nutrients we're giving her."

"Are you sure?" Aro asked, pecking his daughter's hand.

"I'm pretty positive," Jeremy answered, setting the clipboard down upon the end of her bed.

Rosalie cleared her scratchy voice, "Has there been any word on who did this?"  
"The officers are still investigating…"  
"It's been two months," Rose cut her mother off.

Lillian set her hand upon her daughter's shoulder, "They're trying their best."  
"Well their best isn't good enough!"

The seventeen year old turned away from her mother and laid back. She brought the covers up to her shoulders and stared in her father's direction, "Dad, I know you. Do you-"

"I'm working on it." He assured his daughter. Aro knew exactly what Rosalie was about to ask, and his answer was nice and prepared, "I'm not dropping this. I refuse. You have my word."  
"Rosalie, you haven't walked in two months. As a part of your recovery, you can practice standing and walking," Dr. Brandon encouraged, pulling the covers off of the teenager, "I'm sure your family and friends wouldn't mind helping you if needed." Her friends and parents nodded in support.

"I don't need any help," she focused her attention on her legs, "It's walking. So what I haven't walked in two months…toddlers walk. It can't be that hard."

Rosalie glanced down at the hideous hospital gown that covered her battered body. The yellowish bruises on her legs were slowly fading as time continued to pass. Her feet, like Alice joked, were left untouched and remained the color of her normal complexion. James stepped forward to help, but at the waving of her hand, he stepped back. Rose turned her body, and allowed for her feet to brush against the cold tiled floor, "Wow this floor is cold," she cracked a smile to ease the tension in the room.

Lillian stood off to the side, biting against her fingernail. Rosalie couldn't help but smirk at the thought of her mother nibbling on her nails, especially because Lillian found that as an unpleasant habit. When she noticed her daughter eyeing her, she dropped her hands, "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Mom," Rose asserted, staring down at her bare feet pressed against the floor. Her body still sat on her bed, and in the next few seconds, as she pushed her weight off of the hospital bed, Rose felt her knees betray her and give out. The seventeen year old falls forward and lands on her hands and knees, "Seriously."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Esme encouraged, watching as James and Aro helped the teenager back onto her feet.

"You don't know how proud of you I am. You're so strong. It just amazes me."

Rosalie smiled at her father's words. He held her up straight, and slowly began to loosen his grip around her arms. She turned to face James, and nodded for him to let go. Dr. Brandon stood near the bathroom door, "See if you can walk towards me Rosalie." Her family and friends moved out of the way in order to give her a clear path towards the doctor.

Her first step was wobbly. It almost caused for her mother to race across the room in order to hold her hand and walk with her the rest of the way. Her second step was unsteady. James wanted to reach out and grab her, but he stopped himself. He didn't want for her to feel like she couldn't do anything on her own. Her third step was off, and almost caused for her to fall face first. Emmett fortunately was the closest to her and managed to balance her out. When he released his hold around her, she proceeded in her course. She felt determined to finish, though her body disagreed. By the tenth step, Rose was exhausted. Her eyes casted down upon her legs to see them shaking, she could feel the deep inhales and exhales of her body, and as she pushed herself to take another step, she knew she wouldn't make it. She fell. Her body failed her.

Emmett and Jasper raced to help her up, and when their hands reached out to pull her to her feet, she swatted them away, "I'm not an invalid." She sat in the center of the room, and looked up with teary eyes. As her eyes scanned her loved ones surrounding her, she felt even worse. They felt sorry for her. Each and every one of them pitied her…even her parents.

Alice approached her best friend and stooped low, "Can I help you back to your bed?"

"No," Rose used the back of her hands to wipe her eyes, "I'm not disabled. I'm not incapacitated. I'm just…I'm just me okay. I don't need help walking Alice." Alice stepped back, and stood near Jasper and Esme. The room remained silent as Rosalie gathered herself and struggled to get back on her feet, "Damn it!" She felt her body weaken and crash back to the ground. Her hands covered her face, and she breathed into her opened palms.

"We don't need to do anymore today," Dr. Brandon spoke up, approaching the young girl.

Rosalie dropped her hands, "I can do this."

"We don't want you to overexert yourself." When everyone nodded to back up the doctor's statement, she felt defeated. She was angry. She was agitated…not with everyone else, but at herself.

Aro reached his hand out for her, "Let us help you back to the bed." He waved for James and Emmett to approach.

"Get out," she kept her head low, and stared down at her bruised hands, "please…everyone just get out." No one moved an inch, and as a result, Rosalie looked up, "I said get out! I want to be alone!" Her breathing became shallow, and out of fear that she'll get too worked up, her friends started exiting the room. "I want you all gone too." Rose glanced over at her father, "please."

"I promised you I wouldn't leave your side." Aro reminded, taking a seat beside his daughter.

"You don't have to leave the hospital, just the room. Please." She turned to face him, "You're not breaking your promise if I give you permission."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Your mom and I will be right outside." Lillian nodded to back up her ex-husband's statement.

Once the room is completely emptied, she makes an effort to crawl over to her bed. She uses the edge of the bed to pull up and steady herself onto her feet. Her feet took small steps and once she was angled properly, her body flopped down onto the bed. She enjoys the silence. Over the last 24 hours, her parents and friends were hovering. She never had a second to herself…and from hearing what happened, she couldn't blame them for not wanting to leave her alone. Rose's hand pressed against the bandage wrapped around her forehead, before noticing Alice's compact mirror lying against the end table.

Rosalie reaches out and easily swipes the mirror off of the end table. She pries it opened with her bruised fingers, and gasps once more at her reflection. There was no getting used to it. Her face was covered in bruises, cuts and scratches. Her eyes were lightly shaded by yellow, black and blue bruises. A few cuts were embedded around her mouth. A white bandaged, stained in blood was wrapped around her head. She couldn't wash the dried blood out of her hair because of the healing stitches at the back of her skull and the white bandage keeping everything together and in place. She gently takes her hand and brushes it against her face, and just like earlier today, she felt nothing. Her face was completely numb. She gripped her hand around the mirror and tossed it across the room. Alice would understand.

Rose looked down at her arms and noticed bruises and lacerations running up and down the limb. Even her hands held miniature scrapes along her palms and under her nails, "What happened to me?" She grabs the collar of her hospital gown and pulls it out, allowing for her the chance to look beneath the cotton fabric. Her eyes landed upon the multiple bandages and bruises. Whoever did this took no mercy upon her. She reached down and stripped back a bandage and the wound underneath was slowly healing. The stitches were still in place, but she immediately knew there would be a scar…or scars plural. She released her gown, and felt tears swell up within her eyes. In an attempt to muffle her sobs, she covered her mouth. Rose heard the door open and couldn't muster up the energy to order whoever it was to leave.

"Why did this happen to me?" Her voice broke as tears fell down her face.

Emmett closed the door behind him, "Babe-"

She didn't want to hear him assure her. She didn't want for him to make promises. She just needed his presence, and when she raised her hand to silence him, he picked up on that, walked across the room, and slid in beside her on the bed. Rose leaned her head back and rested it upon his chest. The two remained in each other's embrace and silently cried together.

* * *

"Dr. Brandon," Lillian waved her daughter's physician over, "mind if I speak to you in private?"

Jeremy said nothing. He merely nodded his head and followed Mrs. King down the hospital corridor. Hot on his heels behind him was Aro keeping up with the doctor and his ex-wife. Lillian peeked into the nearest room and spotted the room empty, "I just want to ask you a question," she noticed her ex-husband following, "Aro, I want to speak to Jeremy alone."

"…not if it's about Rose."

"Please," her eyes pleaded with his.

"You've never asked me to leave before, why now?"

"Your anger," she admitted, resting her hand upon his shoulder, "you don't take bad news well, and what I'm about to insinuate is not good news."

"I can handle it," he assured her.

Lillian took his word for it. She left the subject and turned to face Dr. Brandon. His hands were resting in the pockets of his white medical jacket as he waited for her questions.

"It's regarding Rose's nausea and vomiting," Lillian always spoke in assertion, but her voice now was filled with fear and worry, "You said that's because of the nutrients and medicine."

Jeremy nodded, "yes."

"How sure are you?"

Aro turned to the mother of his only child and furrowed his brows in confusion, "Whatever you're trying to say, just say it."

"I'm just…" she covers her face and takes a deep breath, "the nausea, vomiting and fatigue, you say they're signs of that, but are you sure that they're not signs of something else?"

"Something else like what?"

"Pregnancy."

**-Tiffany.**


	15. Stroke Of Bad Luck

Two days ago Rosalie woke up. One day ago, she tried to walk. The hospital became Lillian and Aro's second home. His brothers would bring him a change of clothes every other day, and James would do the same for Lillian. Rose's friends would visit regularly every day after school. Their jobs allowed them to take as much time as they needed off in order to be there for Rosalie. Majority of the townspeople wanted to visit her, but Aro and Lillian still thought it was best if only those closest to her visited…at least until she was fully discharged. Now, two days after awakening from a two month coma, everything still remained the same. She still had severe headaches, her walking remained unbalanced, her vision was occasionally blurry and she threw up every once and awhile, but the doctors weren't worried…and for that reason, Lillian wasn't worried.

Lillian adjusted herself in the uncomfortable hospital chair, as she allowed her mind to drift off to yesterday's conversation with Dr. Brandon. She thought her daughter was pregnant. She was sure of it…all of the symptoms pointed towards it.

"_Something else like what?"_

"_Pregnancy."_

_Dr. Brandon rested his hand upon her shoulder, "We already ran the test months ago. Rose is not pregnant."_

"…_we all know how accurate your tests are," Lillian muttered, eyeing Aro in her peripheral, "how can you be so sure?"_

"_We're positive," he affirmed, crossing his arms, "We ran multiple tests. We took urine and blood samples. Rosalie is not pregnant."_

_Aro squeezed the doctor's shoulder, "You better be sure about this."_

"_I'm 100% positive."_

Mrs. King broke out of her reverie and sighed. She was completely relieved that she didn't have to cross that bridge. Rose still didn't know about the rape. And everyone that knew Rosalie didn't want to be the one to tell her. Aro was seated against the edge of his daughter's bed, and James was in the corner eating his lunch. At the sound of laughter, Lillian looked over to the door and smiled when her daughter's three closest friends entered.

"I bought some flowers," Emmett held up the lilies, "I figured they could brighten up the room some more, especially since she woke up." The flowers seemed to have stopped coming because she was no longer in a coma. If anything, that should have given people more reason to send them.

As Lillian swapped out some old flowers for new ones, she heard her daughter groan. It had been hard for Rosalie to get sleep these last two days because of her aching head and the occasional vomiting. Aro rushed over to his daughter's side, "Are the headaches still bad?"

"They're worse actually," she spoke in a weak voice, "but I'll manage."

"The headaches should have stopped, right?" Alice looked between her friend's parents, and as a response they shrugged. They weren't doctors, and every time they asked one, they always got the same response. It's a result of her brain injury.

Rosalie pulled off her covers, "Can we try walking again? The doctors do think it's good for me to stretch my legs every so often."

"Are you up for it?" Jasper walked over, to help her off of the bed. This time, she was more accepting of the offered help. She took a hold of Jasper's hand, and allowed him to steady her. When he let go, and backed away from her, she felt her legs tremble. Lillian is at her side in an instant, and helps her maintain balance. She held her daughter's hand as they took a step, and while Rose's legs were wobbly, she was confident she wouldn't fall, more so because her mother was right beside her.

The door opened and Dr. Cullen entered the room with Esme, the two smiling from ear to ear at the sight of Rosalie taking small and shaky steps. Lillian soon releases her daughter's hand, and backs up to be near her son's seat, "You got this baby girl." Her words of encouragement rang in her daughter's ear as Rose took another small step. She felt herself grow exhausted, but she didn't want to give up now. Esme clapped for her. Alice bounced happily from where she was standing. Emmett kept his fingers crossed as she tried to walk the same distance that she attempted to do yesterday. Aro grinned at his daughter proudly when she took another unsteady step. She was definitely a fighter. After the twelfth step, her vision blurred, the pain in her head intensified and her legs completely gave out. Her body went tumbling towards the ground, and before it made total contact with the tiled floor, strong arms caught her.

Rosalie could barely make out the outline of her boyfriend as he held her. Emmett smiled when her hands reached up to touch his face, "Are you okay?" She felt her forehead as the sharp ache increased to an unbearable pain. She screamed at the top of her lungs and clenched her head. It was the worse feeling in her entire life. "Are you okay," Emmett repeated, worry etched across his face.

Her mouth opens to respond, and when she does, her words are a jumbled mess.

"I didn't catch that," he gave her a dimpled smile he knew she would enjoy.

She repeated her answer, but it was foreign to ears that listened. Her speech was slurred and her words inaudible. Emmett's eyes filled with fear, as he looked up to his dad, "Hey Rose, are you okay?" Aro repeated Emmett's earlier question, as he stooped low beside his daughter.

And when she started to respond in the exact same manner, her father turned to face Carlisle, "What's going on? Why can't she talk right?"

Dr. Cullen lowered himself in front of Rosalie. His son's arms remained wrapped tightly around her, and when he knew she was secure, he attempted to question her, "Hey Rosalie, its Dr. Cullen. Can you understand what I'm saying to you?" Her body immediately begins to shake within the arms of her boyfriend. Her figure begins to jerk roughly in Emmett's arms, and he alarmingly takes a firmer hold of her, "Dad, something's wrong!"

"Help me roll her over to her left side," Carlisle ordered, gently pulling her from Emmett's hold. Aro, James and Jasper stood low in order to help the doctor turn her over, "Okay, I don't want anyone to panic. We have to remain calm. She's seizing."

"What?" Lillian ran up to her daughter, "She doesn't have a history of seizures!" Her hand pressed against her forehead. Alice raced over to her friend's mom and pulled her away, "We have to stay calm Lillian."

Carlisle looked up, and pointed to her hospital pillow, "Hand me that!" James raced to grab it and handed it over to the doctor, "Alice go get your father." Dr. Cullen placed the pillow beneath her head.

Within seconds, her body stopped jerking and trembling. Carlisle gently scooped the seventeen year old into his arms, "Aro, grab her pillow." The doctor placed her back into her bed, and allowed for her father to cushion the pillow behind her.

"Alice started to fill me in," Dr. Brandon announced, rushing into the hospital room, "What's going on?"

Carlisle didn't answer right away. He pulled an ophthalmoscope out of his pocket, pried open her eyes and shined the light into each one, "There's swelling behind her optic nerve." Carlisle moves to check her other eye, "This just…wait, nausea, vomiting, severe headaches, numbness of the face…and a seizure." Dr. Cullen turned to face his colleague, "We need to take her into surgery NOW!"

"What's happening?" Aro asked in a panic as he watched the doctors unlock the wheels on her hospital bed.

Dr. Brandon allowed for Carlisle to rush their patient out of the room, "Your daughter is having an intracerebral hemorrhage. It's a stroke."

"She's going to be alright though, right?" Lillian approached the doctor, "You have to do everything you can. We can't have her back, and then taken away like that! That's just…that's just cruel." Carlisle gave Lillian a firm nod before racing out of the room after his colleague.

Aro's hands trembled against his sides. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he paced the area of where his daughter's bed was once situated. His closed fist slammed down upon the end table, as he kicked an empty chair across the room, "You all told me to go to church, to pray and to repent because this is all in God's plan," he turned to face the people in the room, "if that is even close to being true, that's sick! The God I grew up with was merciful. He wouldn't plan for my seventeen year old daughter to be raped and beat into a coma. He wouldn't wake her up and give her back to me, just so he can take her away again." Aro swallowed hard, and entwined his fingers in his brunette hair, "…this can't be happening!" His back hit against the bare wall, "I can't get her scream out of my head! I…I keep hearing it!" His back remained pressed against the wall as he slid down it. Aro's hands covered his face as he withheld sobs within his shaken body.

The individuals in the room stood in shock. They've seen him happy and angry, but sad was another story. No one knew what to do. Emmett looked to his mother, but even Esme, the counselor, didn't know how to handle this situation. As a result, she looked to James and he looked to his mother. Lillian used to be married to him; they obviously got along at one point. Alice nudged her best friend's mother towards Aro, and as she approached the weeping father, her heart ached for him. Lillian understood exactly how he felt. They shared a daughter, and it was their child that was suffering. She stood in front of him, and lowered herself to her knees, "Aro-"

"I'm really not in the mood Lillian," he snapped, looking up at her with bloodshot eyes.

She reached out and set her hand on top of his, "I'm not that bad. I just…I just want to talk to you."

"Rose is in surgery."

"Yes she is," Lillian nodded, backing up her ex-husband's statement, "And it'll be some time before we find anything out, but we know Rose…you know your daughter. She's a fighter, remember? You knew she would wake up from her coma, and she did. She's like you in many ways."

"Be careful Lillian. You're about to compare your daughter to the ex-husband that you can't stand."

"She gets her determination from you. She loves hard. She never gives up. She's a fighter. She's protective. All of that, all of those traits, she gets from you…her dad."

Aro glanced up and shared mutual eye contact with his ex-wife. This was the first time in years that they had a civil conversation, and it was over a topic they loved the most; their daughter. Lillian grasped his hand within hers, "You know, for a man who feels like he has all of the bad luck in the world, you did get lucky with having a daughter like Rosalie. She's here, partially because of you. And Aro, you may feel like the world is against you, me, all of us, but as long as we have her in our corner, we'll be alright," Her voice cracks at the end, and he immediately knows the subject is about to take a turn, "You've been through hell Aro, but trust me when I say that you do not have to stay there." Her eyes watered as a gentle smile fell upon her face, "And I know we don't get along…or at least we haven't in the last ten years, but you're my daughter's father. You will always have a part of my heart because you will always own half of hers. No document, custody agreement or prison sentence can ever take that away."

Within a quick flash, Lillian felt arms wrap around her. She could feel Aro press a quick peck against her cheek as he held his ex-wife in his arms. The easiest way to get through to him is the topic of Rosalie. That girl…his daughter was held up on a high pedestal in his eyes. She could do no wrong. Aro's eyes closed as he held Lillian in his arms, "That really means a lot."

"I meant every word," Lillian whispered in response as she rubbed circles into his back, "Sometimes it takes for stuff like this to happen for us to see clarity. I apologize to you…from the bottom of my heart."

"Do you think what happened to her was done," he took a brief pause as she took a seat next to him, "because of something we did? We've never explored that option."

"Could we have possibly done something that awful?" Lillian watched as Aro rose to his feet, "I mean, seriously Aro…what could we have done that warrants someone doing that to Rose?"

His hand wrapped around Lillian's forearm as he held her in place, "Nothing, but that doesn't mean someone didn't. Whoever did this is insane. Out of everyone in this town, this person chose Rose. She's the daughter of the town's convict and the step-daughter of the town's mayor, which obviously proves that either this is revenge or a few screws are loose in this asshole's head." He loosened his grip around her arm, "We both need to think long and hard about everything we've ever did." The older Hale turned to face his daughter's friends, "We also need to think of things Rose may have done…whether pretty or not. We need this bastard caught, especially before she finds out about the rape."

Lillian gave a nod of consent. Aro's former method of trying to intimidate the truth out of everyone wasn't working, and he knew he needed a different approach. Instead of looking outwards, he needed to look inwards. He had to focus on himself, Lillian, James and especially Rose…and if that led nowhere, he would have had to widen the bracket to include his brothers and Emmett. Since this was not a robbery, and the coward beat her to a pulp, it all pointed towards a passion crime, meaning she knew the person and they did this to her because of what something or someone else did. If that led nowhere, then the only alternative it could have been was a random act of violence and control.

"Since we're coming clean about things Lillian," Alice nervously stepped forward, sparking the attention of everyone around her, "what's up with you and Royce?"

"He's my husband."

"…not him. I'm talking about your step-son." Alice's insinuation led to a spark of curiosity from everyone in the room, "Royce visited Rose when she was in her coma and he said he was there for atonement."

Lillian shook her head, "That honestly has nothing to do with this. I thought we already explored this avenue. Royce Jr. didn't do it."

"Okay, he didn't do it, but what the hell is he atoning for? What amends could he possibly have been making?" Emmett approached the mother of his girlfriend, "If you don't give us answers, our imagination would fill them in for us."

Aro gently turned Lillian to face him, "We made an agreement," his hands held her shoulders firmly; "We're going to come clean about any and everything. No one will judge you or look at you any differently. Now, why was Royce Jr. atoning?"

Before his question could be answered, father and son walked into Rosalie's hospital room. Both Royce Sr. and Jr. scanned the room for Lillian, and when she was spotted, they raced over to her. Aro knew there was no getting any answers from Lillian now that her other family arrived. As a result, he gathered himself, pressed a firm smirk across his face as he stormed out.

"Victoria called us," Royce Sr. informed, pulling his wife into his arms, "We heard about what happened to Rose. Is she going to make it?"

"It's too soon to tell," Lillian shrugged him off.

Royce Sr. felt the distance his wife purposefully placed between them. He attempted to step towards her, but she just stepped back, "Did I do something wrong?"

"It's what you didn't do."

"What didn't I do?"

"You're not by my side Royce," Lillian hollered, maintaining the distance between she and her husband, "My daughter has been through hell and I've been really trying to hold it together! You're my husband! You're supposed to help me through stuff like this!"

"I'm sorry," he reaches his hand out for her.

"Why am I suffering alone?"

"I guess I just," Royce pressed his hand against the back of his head, "I think I just tried to bury myself in work. Rose is just so sweet. It's hard for me to see her like that."

"And it's not hard for me? She's MY daughter."

"I know that. I know," he reached out for his wife's hand, "I didn't mean anything by that. I just thought I would be more useful if I worked. Brady and I have been working this case to get this person. Now that she's awake, I have to keep the townspeople settled. They want answers. They want justice for her. Brady and I are trying to get that. I'm sorry that it took me away from you."

Lillian heard the words her husband spoke, and she deemed them to be true. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, when she leaned in for a kiss, her lips met his cheek, "I should," he agitatedly pulled away, "I should get back to work. I was just dropping by to check on any news, but since we know nothing I should head back out. I'm more useful out there. Royce," the mayor turned to face his son, "I need to speak with you."

"MOM!" James shouts from the threshold of the hospital room, "Aro is destroying a hospital room!" Lillian held up her finger in the direction of her husband and step-son, "Can you just wait until we find out news before you leave? She's been in surgery for at least an hour…maybe a little over."

Lillian disappeared from the room, leaving behind the friends of her daughter, Esme, Royce Sr. and Jr. An awkward silence fell over as arguing erupted from the hallway. It was between Aro and Lillian. She wanted him to stop, but it was the only way he could think of that would allow him to exert his anger. He had to punch something. He needed to destroy something. Aro was in desperate need of some major relief, and he luckily found it in the empty hospital room next door to his daughter's room. Aro stormed into his daughter's room with Lillian hot on her heels, "Please, just relax. I need for you to be calm, at least until we hear word about Rosalie."

Without saying another word, Aro nodded his head in agreement. His knuckles were bruised and his face was flushed red from the anger simmering inside of his body. Before it boiled to the point of another release, the door opened, and his daughter's hospital bed was wheeled in by Jeremy and Carlisle. Rosalie was asleep with fresh white bandages wrapped around, and hiding her lengthy blonde hair.

"Is she…is she in a coma?" Alice was scared of the answer, but she needed to know.

"No sweetheart," Jeremy assured, as he and Carlisle locked the wheels of Rose's bed in place, "Actually, she's going to be alright."

"Jeremy, no offense," Aro approached his daughter's physician in anger, "but you have to understand why I don't believe you. You need to see it from my point of view, you" he pushed against Dr. Brandon's chest, "you told us countless amounts of times that she's fine. The symptoms were all side effects of her brain injury. What THE HELL was that back there? She had a seizure! She had a stroke! She's seventeen for goodness sake! You need to tell us everything, and if you're wrong, I won't be so willing to forgive you again."

Dr. Brandon stepped back in order to put distance between him and Aro. Aro freaked him out. He stood beside Carlisle, and the two looked between each other in order to see who should speak first. Dr. Cullen cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention, "We had to rush Rosalie into emergency head surgery. During the last two days, the swelling in Rosalie's brain worsened," as Carlisle continued, he noted the pained expressions that surrounded him, "When she collapsed, it was due to the swelling of her brain which was caused by an artery rupturing. This did cause bleeding in the brain, but fortunately Rosalie was already in the hospital, so the damage was not as severe. We were able to perform the surgery immediately." Dr. Cullen nudged for his colleague to step forward and finish the updates.

Avoiding eye contact with Aro, Jeremy turned to face the remainder of the group, "It was a small rupture, and when we performed the surgery, we worked to repair the source of the swelling and the damaged artery. We got to it in time. We gave her drugs in order to slow down the bleeding while we operated. Fortunately for Rosalie, not much tissue is damaged, but she's still in a weak and fragile state. The next 30 days are crucial and are the most important, so we are highly recommending bedrest. The more she's off her feet, relaxed and resting, the better. Stress is bad, so let's limit that to none at all."

"So, she's okay?" Lillian sighed in relief.

Carlisle watched her as she approached Rose's bedside, "Everything is looking good, but only time will tell. We'll see where her head is at when she wakes up, we'll ask her a few questions, and run a few tests."

The overbearing mother lifted her daughter's hand and peppered kisses all around it, "Oh thank God!" She continued peppering kisses.

Royce Sr. pulled some keys out of his pocket, "Thanks for allowing me to borrow your car."

"I finally get it back," Royce Jr. smirked, pocketing his keys.

As the older Royce gave everyone a wave before heading outside to be picked up by Brady, he watched as his son approached Lillian in order to comfort her. His wife was an emotional wreck, but with Royce Jr. by her side, she'll be perfectly fine. However, Royce Jr. couldn't stay long. He was needed back at work.

"Hey dad!"

The older King came to an abrupt stop out in the hallway. He slowly turned to face his son, as the younger Royce jogged up to him, "I couldn't help but notice your knuckles," he reached out for his father's hands, "Are you alright?"

At the sight of Mayor King's scarred knuckles, it reminded him of his father's hands a little over two months ago. Royce Jr. took a hold of his dad's hands, and noticed the area healing, "I remember the day Rose was attacked, you came in with some bruised and scratched knuckles. What happened to you?"

"It's stupid really," Royce Sr. shrugged it off, "When I found out about what happened to Rose, I took it out on my office. I was really upset, my secretary had to come in and check on me." He turned away, completely ashamed, "I just…I was so angry! I had to punch something…multiple times."

The two separated, and departed from the hospital. He knew his dad's story checked out because Jessica, his secretary, left a voicemail on his phone because she was worried about his father. At the time, she didn't know of Rose's accident, until word continued to spread. He did know his father destroyed his office, but he never put two and two together.

Royce Jr. waved to his father as he watched him hop into the car with Brady. The two were heading down to the mayor's office in order to figure out what to say next to the public. Everyone was pressing for information and answers. They wanted all of this behind them, but it would never happen as long as this criminal was free.

The younger King approached his car and sighed dejectedly. He hated the condition his beautiful car was now in. Food wrappers, trash and junk was everywhere in the car, from the windshield to the backseat floor. When Royce allowed his father to borrow his car two months ago, it was only because of the trust he had that his father would return it in the same condition it was loaned out. Royce fearfully approached his trunk. If the inside of his car was in this current state, he feared to see the state his trunk was in. And when he popped the trunk, it was even worse than he imagined. Piles of trash bags, tools, and just…junk was everywhere. Without even bothering to rifle through the stuff, he slammed the trunk shut, "I'll just take my car to get clean sometime this week."

Time continued to pass on with everyone sitting around Rosalie's hospital bed. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours as they waited, and eventually, the waiting was over as her eyes fluttered open. The blinding light caused for her to quickly shut them and release a low groan, "Mom? Dad?"

"We're here," Lillian raced up to the bed, "How do you feel?"

Her voice is scratchy as she responds, "Thirsty."

Aro sends James out of the room in order to retrieve her some water. Carlisle and Jeremy approach the bed, and immediately start evaluating her. Dr. Cullen checks her pupils, "Do you still have your 24/7 headaches?"

"No," she whispered, and a part of her smiled at the sight of her brother entering the room with water.

"Her speech is good. What about nausea?" Dr. Brandon questioned next.

She struggles to sit up, and takes a hold of the straw inside the glass of water, "No."

Rosalie takes a long sip of water as the doctors feel around her face. She continues to drink as they rub their gloved hands against her face, "Does your face still feel numb?"

"Yes," she pulls the straw out of her mouth.

Her parents look at the doctors in worry, "It's okay. That's normal. The numbness will eventually go down in the next few hours. If it's still numb by tomorrow morning, let us know."

"I actually feel ten times better," she hands the glass of water back to her brother, "the way I felt those last two days were just…horrible. This is how I'm supposed to feel."

"That's good," Carlisle gave her an encouraging pat on the back.

Rosalie sits up, and takes a look at her boyfriend and parents, "I actually feel good enough to try and walk again."

"Not a chance," Jasper cuts in before anyone has a chance to respond, "that was enough excitement for today. You, are taking a nap."

"I just woke up from a nap."

"Well," Alice looked around in thought, "I'll update you on some school gossip. I have tons of stuff to tell you."

"Oh yes, do tell." Rosalie laid back in her bed as Alice pulled up a chair.

Aro and Lillian were willing to listen to anything as long as it kept Rose in the bed. The thought of walking quickly left her mind as she waited to be filled in.

**-Tiffany.**


	16. Fire In Her Soul

The following two days went by smoothly. Rosalie developed a routine that allowed for her to maintain consistency within her already crazy life. Since the headache, nausea and vomiting stopped; she's been able to sleep through the night. The numbness and blurry vision was completely gone, and once the stitches completely heal in the next week, she'll be able to remove the bandage and see the damage done to her partially shaven head. Due to the immediate head surgery she had to undergo, a small portion of her hair was needed to be shaved. Fortunately, the doctors said they were able to shave a part that could be easily covered.

It had been four days since Rosalie rose from her coma, and her recovery process started taking an excruciatingly slow turn for the better. The after effects of her stroke were not severe. While her walking still needed a lot of work, and her memory still had holes in it, her mood was different. The anger, irritation and frustration simmered away and she allowed for her parents and friends to help. However, she still pressed everyone for information on her assault and her attacker, but no one knew anything. She was still vulnerable, and bed rest was mandatory. Her mood needed to remain good and no stress was obligatory.

As the door opened to her hospital room, she looked up and smiled. Elizabeth was currently entering her room, holding a clipboard, "Hi Rosalie."

Rose gives her a kind smile, "Hi Elizabeth. What-"

Before her question could be posed, the nurse cut in, "You're surprised, aren't you?"

"No," Rosalie closes her book, and sets it down on the end table, "I wanted to know what tests we'll be running today."

Elizabeth smirked, "I know we normally bicker, but you're not surprised at all to see me? You're not shocked?" the nurse begins jotting down the numbers listed across the EKG screen, "You don't have to answer that. I know you're surprised I'm back, everyone else sure is, but I was cleared."

"Cleared?"

"Yeah, the hospital board realized that I had nothing to do with the disappearance of your rape kit." Rosalie's book falls to the ground, echoing a loud slam as it made contact. It was an accident. She tried to reach for her purse, in order to get her phone and ended up knocking the thick novel to the ground in the process.

Out of shock, Elizabeth lowers herself and lifts up the book, "Here Rose." She sets it down on top of the patient's lap, "James Patterson is such a great author. You'll have to tell me about that book when you're done. I may want to check it out."

"My…ra…rape kit?" Rose steered the conversation back on topic. She was in surprise. Whatever Elizabeth just said to her was not heard. She kept replaying the nurse's words over and over in her head. A rape kit is only used on a person that has been raped.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth holds her hand against the patient's forehead, "I heard you had a stroke two days ago. Are you having another one?" She feels around Rose's face, "Should I get the doctor? Hey," she tries to turn Rosalie towards her, "look at me. Are you okay?"

"I was raped?" She blinked rapidly out of her gaze, and spoke with such dismal and pain, "Elizabeth, are you saying that someone raped me?"

If Elizabeth didn't listen carefully, she wouldn't have heard her, "Someone raped me?" Rose's words were in the form of a question. Was she asking or telling her? The young seventeen year old turned to look into the nurse's eyes, "I wasn't just assaulted, but I was raped too?" Her voice broke. She was on the verge of tears. She was taking deep breaths in order to keep herself together. She didn't want to hear anymore lies. She wanted the truth. Once the nurse peered into the teenager's orbs, Elizabeth immediately registered the fact that Rosalie must did not know. And at that same time, Rosalie found out the truth and received her answer.

Within seconds, Rosalie begins to rip the IVs out of her arms. Elizabeth struggled to hold the seventeen year old in place, "Stay calm." Nothing was working. Rosalie was determined and very persistent in her pursuit to get free.

"Get off of me," Rose pushed herself out of bed. Now was definitely not the time for her legs to fail her. She held onto the bed, and used furniture around the area to help her walk towards the exit of the room. Her bare feet shivered against the cold floor, and her suppressed tears began to fall out of her eyes the closer she got to the door.

Elizabeth could only watch in shock as the young teenager pulled open the door, and entered the hallway, "You're not well! Please, I'm sorry! Come back! Rosalie! I can't lose this job!"

"Do not," Rosalie tumbles to the ground, and lands on her hands and knees, "Do not follow me."

The railing in the hallway provided enough support for her to pull herself to her feet. If she wasn't so focused on finding her family, she would have been embarrassed. The exit she made was less than classy, but in all honesty, she didn't care. Walking was no longer important to her. Her health was no longer her number one priority. Her main focus was getting the truth. As she holds onto the railing and approaches the receptionist area, she eyes the town's newspaper. Luckily, Victoria is not behind her desk. If she was, she would have been another obstacle to overcome.

Every part of Rosalie wanted for this to be a misunderstanding. Maybe she stormed out too soon for Elizabeth to clear things up? If she were raped, her family would have told her. Someone would have said something to her. Something this big would have never been kept from her. The town hardly has news, so if this were true, she would have still been front page news even though it happened two months ago. Rosalie swallows her nerves, and reads the front line of the paper, "The Sad Tales of Rosalie Hale." It was the melodramatic title, and the first line of the article that informed her of the truth. She was in fact raped, beat and left for dead. The article left no details out.

"What are you doing up?" She turns at the sound of her mother's voice.

Rosalie bites down upon her bottom lip as she struggles to find the right words, "You all lied to me." From her disheveled state, they could tell something was bothering her.

Aro tries to take a hold of her arm, "Rose-"

"Dad, you even lied to me!" She takes a shaky step away from him.

"I'm sorry!" Elizabeth's voice called out as she raced into the hallway, "I didn't know that she didn't know. It was an accident. I just assumed-"

"Know what?" Alice questions.

The newspaper falls to the ground, "Guess!" Her voice is strong. It is the strongest they have heard her speak since she woke up.

The immediate shifting of facial expressions informs Rosalie that it clicked. Everyone knew what she was referring to, and by the expression on their faces, she knew that each and every one of them felt guilt, "Sweetheart-" Lillian tries to speak, but gets cut off by her daughter's heated voice, "How could you NOT tell me?" Her voice is so loud that the pitch bounces off of the hallway walls, "All of you lied to my face! Every day I sat in that bed and asked why someone would do that to me! I repeatedly asked what he took from me, and you all said NOTHING!"

"He didn't take anything," Jasper corrected, placing the newspaper back onto the stand.

"He didn't take anything Jasper?" She turns to face her best friend, "He took ME!" Uncontrollable cries erupted out of her. Her shoulders shook as she cried out to her family and friends, "He took me without my permission!" Bystanders stood at a distance and watched the scene play out.

Jasper instantaneously felt bad, "I didn't mean it like that Rose."

Her dad steps in. He always had a way of getting through to her no matter what. They always knew what to say to one another, and when his hands gently took a hold of her shoulders, he spoke, "Let us explain…"

"No," she pushes her dad's hands away from her, "You know, I expected this from mom, but not you." Out of anger, Rosalie pushes her father to the side, and uses the railing as a guide back to her room. She could feel herself growing exhausted and running out of breath, but she refused to give up. As she pushed open her hospital room door, she began looking around, "Where are my clothes and shoes?" Her hold on the door knob tightened as it supported some of her weight. She eyed the closet located a few steps ahead of her.

"I understand that you're upset," Lillian softly whispered, trying to steady her daughter, "You have every right to be, but you are not leaving. You are still recovering. You need to worry about yourself right now."

Rosalie knew there was no getting through to her mother, at least not right away. As a result, she turned to face her friends, "I want you all to take me to where I was found."

"Why?" Emmett asked, taking a hold of her arm to walk her further into the room.

"Why do you think?" A part of her felt bad for being so snippy, but a larger part of her didn't care. At this current moment, she doesn't care about their feelings, because they obviously didn't care about hers. She stopped walking and turned her boyfriend to face her, "I want to remember! I want to remember so we can catch this asshole!"

Her mom reached for her opposite arm, "Let's discuss this."

"Either you come with me, or you stay." She tore her arms from the hold of both her mother and her boyfriend, "It's up to you, but regardless of your decision, I'm leaving this place."

Aro stepped forward, "No you're not."

"What, you're going to force me to stay? Are you going to have the doctors restrain me again? Sedate me? Force me to forget that I even found out?"

"That's not fair," Aro shook his head. Everyone could tell this was really getting to him, and he used every part of his being to keep himself together.

"Really daddy, that's not fair. Of all the things I've been through, THAT is what is not fair."

The two stood in front of each other, with Aro towering over his daughter by a few inches, "We were just trying to protect you."

"The time to protect me was two months ago."

"Rose-"  
"You didn't tell me! I had to find out from Elizabeth of all people!"

"We did it for you."

"I highly doubt that, you did it for yourself." The seventeen year old turned, and pulled open the closet she stood near. It was practically empty except for a stuffed duffle bag lying on a shelf inside. She pulled the bag towards her and unzipped the carrier, "What is this?" She pulls out the clothes, and immediately recognizes them. Her eyes squint as they scan the dried mud and blood embedded into the fabric.

Rosalie's fingers brush over the grime implanted into the material of her old clothes. Her brain makes the connection that this was the outfit she wore two months ago when she was attacked. Rose squeezes her hand around the shirt and closes her eyes. She tried to squeeze the tears away from her orbs, but it didn't work. When she reopened her eyes, teardrops began rolling down her face. "What is that still doing here?" Lillian snatches it from her daughter's hold, "I thought the police took her clothing!"

Aro completely missed everything Lillian just said. His eyes were focused on his daughter, her facial expression, and her reaction. She stood in place on her injured legs and silently cried. Aro has definitely seen Rose upset before, but definitely not this upset. He didn't know how to comfort her. He wasn't prepared for this.

"Do you even remember where you were attacked?" Jasper's question snaps her out of her reverie, "Are you just going to go out and wander until you find the place?"

Her eyes focus on him, "…if I have to, I will."

"You don't know who found you?" Alice wanted to help. She could read Rosalie like an opened book, and mentally putting herself in Rosalie's shoes, she would want answers too. She would be willing to do anything to get those answers.

"I don't remember."

Lillian shoves the duffle bag of clothes back into the closet. If it's out of sight, it's out of mind. She shut the closet door, positioned her body to stand in front of it, "I'm sorry you had to see that sweetheart. I'll send an officer here to pick it up."

Alice looked into the eyes of her best friend. She promised herself that she would do anything to help Rosalie get justice. By withholding information, she wasn't doing that, "Garrett and Kate."

"Alice!" Lillian reprimanded.

"What about Garrett and Kate?"

"They found you."

"Rosalie," Aro warned, stepping forward.

"Dad," she raises her hands, "you can't stop me. I thought you of all people wanted to find this bastard, and now you're backing out. Who are you?" The seventeen year old turns away from her father and faces her friends.

"I promised you that I would find this person, let me keep that promise."

"You made that promise daddy," her voice turned low, as she avoided eye contact with her father, "and it fell short. It's been two months. It's my turn now."

"Let's work together."

Lillian approached her ex-husband, "Aro!"

"If you can't beat them, join them Lillian."

Rosalie lifts her finger, "…on one condition."

"Anything," Aro nods.

Before responding, the seventeen year old takes a hold of her boyfriend's wrist. She used his strength to hold her up as she took graceful steps towards her overused hospital bed, "You have to let me go to where I was attacked." She flopped down onto the bed, "Thanks Em." Rose genuinely smiled at him.

"Anything for my girl," he leaned in, and when his lips brushed against her cheek, she opened her eyes in a panic.

"I don't know why I just did that," her hand sat atop of her bandaged head, "when you leaned in to kiss me, my subconscious made me turn away. I had no control over that Emmett."

"Hey, hey," he set his hands against her face in order to gain eye contact, "just relax. I got you."

Aro had to break the conversation between his daughter and her boyfriend after observing their brief interaction. He walked over to his daughter, and took a seat on her bed beside her, "Regarding your last statement… I'll agree only if I can bring you back to the hospital afterwards."

"Deal," Rose turned and extended her hand.

Lillian took a step in the direction of her daughter, but decided against approaching her. She opened her mouth to respond, closed it shortly after before opening it up again, "Do you really want to remember?"

"Yes."

"If you remember your attacker, then you'll remember the attack."

"Mom," Rose extended her hand out to Lillian in order to gesture for her to come in closer, "I'm willing to take the chance."

Lillian's voice broke as she stepped forward, "Rose."

"Mom, you're not going to convince me otherwise. Please, I need this." The seventeen year old spoke with assertion and confidence as she continued, "I can't just go about my day knowing this guy is still out there and I can possibly put him away. Mom, someone took something from me that I only shared with the person I love," her eyes briefly fall upon Emmett, before averting them back to her approaching mother, "and I just need to keep busy or I will think about it, and because I don't remember, I will allow my imagination to tell me what happened, and I'm afraid of what it'll come up with."

"Your mom is in." Aro assures, rubbing his daughter's back, "We all are baby." Everyone in the room nodded to back up the older Hale's statement.

Her eyes glistened with tears as her father whispered, "Come here." She turned into his arms, and allowed for his muscular limbs to wrap around her, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He pecks her forehead before pecking her cheek. His arms were closed as her head remained pressed against his upper body, and when she spoke next, he could feel the vibration against his chest, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Every part of her wanted to drop it and move on, but in reality she couldn't. While she and Elizabeth were civil with one another, there was always this mutual dislike they shared for the other. Elizabeth was years older than the teenager, but that didn't stop her from continuously spreading rumors about the high school cheerleader. This was the same woman who used to bully Alice after church a few years ago. This was the same woman who was originally hired at the hospital after dating one of the members on the board. And this was the exact same woman that had the sweetest mother on earth, but treated those she didn't like as inferior. Elizabeth did have a kind streak, but when unearthed there was hints of manipulation, bitterness and hostility that simmered below. The fact that Elizabeth was the one to break the news to her made it feel like a betrayal. Her feelings about the news would have been the same, but maybe her reaction would have been different.

"I found out through Elizabeth of all people," she pulled out of her father's arms, "Why didn't you guys just tell me?"

"We were honestly trying to protect you." Lillian wrapped her arm around Alice's shoulders as her daughter's best friend nodded in support.

Aro explained next, "You had a stroke, and after that, we didn't want to stress you out."

"What about before my stroke?" Her voice rose to a higher pitch, "You had time! You could have told me when you told me I was attacked. You purposefully withheld information from me…and it wasn't out of protection, at least not right away." Her eyes stared into the identical eyes of her father, "Initially, none of you told me because you were scared!"

Aro squints in confusion, "Why would we be-"

"If you're going to continue lying to me, we can end this conversation now." She lifts herself to her feet and pulls back the covers of her hospital bed.

"It's just," her dad guides her into the bed, "you're such a happy person, and we didn't want to take that away. We were going to tell you, we just wanted to wait until we got answers. You're a good person and-"

"I'm not a good person! I'm not perfect! So can you please stop treating me like I am?" She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, "I have flaws…a lot of them. I'm impatient. I can be bitchy. I'm sarcastic. I'm stubborn. I'm gullible. I'm foolish. And I'm stupid. Gosh, I'm so stupid! I should have known I was raped! ALL of the signs were there! And I'm such a dumbass for not seeing it!"

"Don't say that," Lillian reprimanded.

"It's the truth mom!" Rose apprehensively rocks forwards and backwards, "And it was probably my flaws that made someone do this to me," Her eyes are shut, "I'm not a mean person."

Alice approached and set her hand upon her best friend's shoulder, "Rose, we know that. This entire town knows that!"

"Then why did this happen to me?" Rose reopened her eyes, "If I am such a good person, why did this happen?"

As silence enveloped the room, Rose mentally realized that no one said anything because no one had any idea how to answer her question. Her doubts and fears increased as they set in. Maybe she did do something? Maybe she isn't such a good person, but in reality, who really is? Maybe it was done out of revenge for something she did? Maybe if she didn't lose her memory she could finally get the answers to all of her questions? Was this done to her because of something she did? Was it because she's a good or bad person? Why her? Out of everyone in this world, this country, this state, this town, why did it happen to her?

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people." Her mother attempted to answer the question her daughter asked moments ago.

"When we find this guy," the seventeen year old ignored her mother's politically correct response, as she made eye contact with her father and boyfriend, "I want to see him."

"…that's if I let him live."

"Daddy-"

"Rose," Emmett interjected, "why would you want to see him?"

"Because I have every right to, okay Emmett? I obviously will know who he is, I just won't know why until I ask. Why would he come after me? Not that I would wish this upon anyone else, I just…I just have a right to know why, especially because I can't think of a reason. The only people who hate me enough to do this is Elizabeth, Jacob and Royce Jr, but since this has happened, they've all been semi-decent to me…so right now, I'm completely out of ideas. I have no clue what the hell is going on with me mentally, emotionally and physically! I don't know how I should react to hearing I got attacked because apparently there's no way for me to react without being criticized! I don't know what the appropriate way to respond is, but I do know that if there is one thing I'm sure about, it's the fact that I want to look this bastard in the eye and have him tell me the absolute truth."

* * *

Royce Jr. slammed the back door of his car, and sighed in triumph. The front and backseats of his car was absolutely cleaned out. It may have taken a little over a day, but most of the job was finally done. All he had left to do was the trunk…and that is where the struggle lay. He popped open the trunk and sighed at the amount of junk.

The same trash bag he used to collect the remaining amounts of garbage on the floor of his backseat, he used to stuff the trash in his trunk.

"Hey son!"

The younger King ignored his father as he stuffed the trash into the garbage bag. He rolled his eyes and continued to grab at the junk.

"What are you doing?" Royce Sr. pulled his son to a stop. He held his son's arm and turned him to face him, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"You have no respect for other people's property! I allowed you to borrow my car for months and you return it to me in this way!" Royce Jr. dropped the trash bag, "Dad, I did you a favor because your wife had your car. My car was filthy when I got it back."

"Okay, let me finish cleaning out the trunk. I messed it up, it's only right that I clean it up." The older King picked up the trash bag, "You go in the house…and just relax."

"Lillian actually called me."

This sparked Royce Sr.'s curiosity. He held the bag tightly in his hand as he waited for his son to continue, "Why did she call you?"

"She needs me to pick up Alice tomorrow morning. Alice is coming here to pack a bag of changing clothes for Rose because Garrett is taking them to where he found her. I'm actually supposed to give them a ride."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Royce Jr. shrugged in complete indifference, "I guess to see if she remembers anything. Why don't you ask her?"

"She's busy taking care of Rose, and I'm busy at work."

His son looked at him in disbelief, "I'm not even going to talk about how ridiculous that sounds. Back to my car, how about we both clean it out?"

"I got it. You shouldn't have to."

Royce Jr. ignored his father and began pulling out the trash, the tools, the newspaper and the napkins and out of frustration he tossed it onto the ground. He turned back to the trunk and began reaching in for more junk, "I don't understand! Why the hell did you need all of this?" He pulled out more napkins and newspapers.

"Look, you're obviously upset son. Let's go in my house and we'll have a beer." Royce Sr. reached out to stop him, but his son ignored his father's words and continued to clean out his car.

"Dad, my car is getting cleaned today. It has a smell to it that I can't pinpoint. It's the smell of all of this garbage mixed in with…something, but I can't figure it out. I'm not driving Rose and everyone else around in my car tomorrow in this…manner."

Within minutes Royce Jr. held the remaining amount of junk, garbage, and mess in his arms. He turned to his father, "Mind opening the trash bag," Royce Sr. obliged, and closed his son's trunk before lifting the bag. He helped stuff the trash into the bag, before tying it up, "We need another garbage bag, and won't you run into the house to get one?"

Royce Jr. shook his head. He turned back to his car and spotted his trunk closed, "Why did you close it?"

"You're done cleaning it out."

"Dad, I took the trash out, I didn't get a chance to clean the carpet inside." The older King watched as his son popped the trunk, and immediately froze at the sight in front of him, "What…is this?" He turned around and looked at his father, "Dad, what the hell is that stained all over the carpet of my trunk?"

"I can explain!"

"Is that what I think it is?"

Royce Sr. held his hands out towards his son, "It's not what you think."

Without responding, Royce Jr. ripped the trash bag from his father's hold. He ripped it open and glanced at the newspapers and napkins that were recently stuffed into the bag, "Dad…" He was so consumed with frustration that he completely overlooked the mess in his trunk as he was cleaning it out, "Dad, don't tell me." Royce Jr. went back to the trunk of his car, and looked around. He spotted a few towels stuffed into a back corner, "Dad, why is there dried blood everywhere?" He angrily tore the towels out of the trunk, "Why are these towels, those napkins and newspapers stained with blood?!"

**-Tiffany.**


	17. Calm Before the Storm

Alice exited the Kings' house, holding Rose's cheer-leading duffle bag stuffed with an outfit and any other necessities that Rosalie wrote down. Early this morning, she was picked up by Royce Jr. and taken to the house. In under an hour, she had managed to pack up everything on the list. The younger King remained in the car as she locked the front door behind her. Her hand gripped around the straps, "Royce, pop the trunk!"

The music in the car played loudly as she struggled to get his attention. She set the bag on top of the closed trunk and walked over to his driver's side, "Royce," she knocked against the window, causing him to jump, and wind down the glass, "What is it?"

"Can you open the trunk? I want to toss her bag inside."

"No," he took a quick glance back and spotted the bag sitting on his closed trunk, "…just hold it on your lap or put it in the backseat."

"The entire drive to the house I had to listen to you complain about how dirty your car was; I was just trying to keep it clean." Alice responded, gripping the bag and storming towards the passenger seat.

As Alice adjusted herself in the passenger seat, Royce Jr.'s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. He wanted his trunk to stay closed for right now. There was still a strong smell emitting from it. While he cleaned out the trash, the large blood stain remained. Once he realized Alice was buckled in and the bag sat in his back seat, he pulled out of the driveway. The talk he had with his father was brief due to his father being called in to the police station. Brady needed to speak with him. He trusted his father, and while he didn't have the reason behind the large stain embedded into his trunk, Royce Sr. guaranteed him answers and in return Royce Jr. promised to keep his mouth and the trunk shut. In the meantime, Royce Jr. struggled to keep from jumping to conclusions. His father said that it's not what he thinks, and he has to take his word for it.

The car pulled into the front of the hospital, and Alice excitedly hopped out. Immediately she noticed a crowd of townspeople beginning to form in front of the hospital. She grabbed the bag, and before closing the door, she spoke, "Are you staying in the car or coming inside? Rose may need some time to get ready." And it immediately hit him. He couldn't drive Rose. Until he got answers from his father, he couldn't allow for her to see his car.

"I uh…I actually have to go into work today."

"And you're just now saying something?" Alice gripped the duffle bag angrily, "How are we supposed to get there?"

"Aro has a car."

"No, Caius has a car, and he's using it."

"Lillian?"

"Your father has the car." Alice set the bag down, and looked at him with pleading eyes, "Come on Royce, please!"

"Garrett can take her."

"He has to go straight to work once he shows us."

"I'm sorry," Royce Jr. leaned over the passenger seat and slammed the door closed.

Alice picked up the bag and power walked into the hospital. Once they take a step closer, it seems like something always gets in the way and creates another obstacle. On her way to Rose's room, she ran into Victoria, "Hey." The receptionist gave her a kind smile, "What's wrong?"

"I have to figure out how we're going to follow Garrett. Royce Jr. backed out at the last minute."

"You can borrow my car. It seats five." Victoria reached into her pocket and pulled out a keyring.

Alice took a quick hold of the keys, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, of course,… anything for Rose. She's a sweet kid." Victoria set her hand against Alice's shoulder before heading back to her desk.

The young Brandon held the keys in one hand and her friend's cheerleading bag in the other. She picked up her step and raced down the hallway. Garrett will be here any minute.

"Please don't make me do this."

Alice walked into the room and saw Rose sitting in the arm chair beside her bed. She heard her friend's pleading words and looked around the room to get an idea of what exactly is going on.

"Sweetheart your walking has definitely improved," Lillian reminded, stooping low in front of her seated daughter, "but you're not ready to do major walking without a little help." That's when it clicked for the newly arrival of Alice. Beside her friend was a standard medical walker that her father must have issued her.

"Mom, this is embarrassing." Rose used her own strength and determination to pull herself to her feet.

Aro pushed the medical walker closer, "It's only temporary. You can stand up by yourself without falling, and you can even take more than ten steps without getting tired, but we just want to be safe than sorry. If you fall out there, you may set yourself back. This will just keep you standing."

"Can I at least walk to the car without it?"

"Sure," Lillian agreed, "Speaking of car, where's Royce Jr?"

Alice waved Victoria's keys in the air, "He backed out, but Victoria offered her car. It seats five."  
"Perfect," Aro takes the car keys, "I'll see where she parked, load the walker into her trunk and then pull the car around."  
By herself, Rose walked to Alice, "Mind lending me a hand in getting dressed?"  
"Of course," Alice held the bag and followed her best friend out of the room.

"Everyone can't go, Aro, Rose and I are going of course," Lillian took a look around the room, "and I think Alice and Emmett should come for emotional support. I hope you're okay with that Jasper, we're just tight on space."

"I'm fine," Jasper shrugged, and gave her a small smile, "I was having lunch with my dad at the station anyway."

"Thanks."

Jasper nodded to Lillian as he took a seat in Rose's previously occupied seat. Minutes following the conversation, Aro, Rose, Alice and Dr. Brandon entered the room. Lillian walked up to her daughter, "I've missed seeing you in plain clothes."

"It's just jeans and a t-shirt." Rosalie took a seat in the wheelchair that Dr. Brandon rolled in.

Lillian wiped her eyes, "It's the little things."

"I'll roll you outside and you'll walk to the car," Aro informed, taking a hold of the wheelchair handles, "I have to warn you. A crowd has formed because everyone is curious to see your recovery process."

Rosalie adjusted the straps of her boots. She remained seated as her father slowly wheeled her out of the room. The trek to the front of the hospital felt like it was taking forever when in reality it was a few minutes. She saw the entrance, and through the glass windows, she saw the townspeople. All of the people of Forks stood outside, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. Garrett sat in the front lobby, and rose when he spotted them, "You don't know how nice it is to see you like this."

"I get that a lot." She cracked a smile.

"I was going to visit you," He pulled his car keys out, "but your visitors were limited. Kate wishes her best, and she's sent you flowers and cards regularly and Austin really wants you back. He doesn't like his new and temporary as he keeps reminding me babysitter."

Aro rolls his daughter and follows behind Garrett as she continues, "Trust me, I can't wait to be back. I missed your kid too."

As the hospital doors opened, Rosalie was met with the bright sunlight and the light wind of the spring's temperature. She always took nature for granted, but as the wind blew through her hair she smiled in comfort and serenity. However, those few seconds shattered as the shouts of the townspeople filled her ears.

"We prayed for you Rose," she heard the town's pastor shout.

Sue smiled, "You look so much better now."

Other shouts of congratulations, prayers, and words of encouragement surrounded her, as her dad held her wheelchair in place for her to stand. The seventeen year old stands on her own, and as the wheelchair is rolled back into the hospital by Dr. Brandon, she realizes that now was her chance to prove just how better she really is.

Emmett is standing at the car, opening the backdoor for her arrival. Her parents are closely beside her, willing to guide her along the way if she cannot carry on. Alice is behind her, holding her arms out, just in case her best friend falls. Her legs are shaking as her nerves increase. Now was not the time for her to seem weak. As she takes a step forward, she's completely fine. The townspeople can obviously tell that her walking was affected by her two month long coma. She takes another step, and begins to hear more shouts, "Why can't you walk?"

She looks up at the busy crowd as more questions are hollered, "Was that a consequence of the attack?" Rosalie continues to walk, but she struggles to block out the talking of the townspeople.

Aro takes a hard glance at his daughter. She may have been walking slowly, but she wasn't tired and she didn't fall. She was perfectly fine. However, he could tell by the expression on her face that she was overwhelmed, nervous and all around dazed by the busy atmosphere surrounding her. Aro walked ahead of his daughter, "Hey, I'm going to ask everyone nicely to just back off, be quiet and respect the fact that this is Rosalie's first time out of the hospital in two months."

His words were ignored as more shouts echoed, "Who raped you Rosalie?"

"Who did that to you?"

"Are we all safe?"

"Will he come after our children too?"

"Was this attack targeted on you?"

"What did you do to make this happen?"

Lillian inserted two fingers into her mouth and whistled loudly. She chose to speak before giving her ex-husband another chance to respond. The insensitive questions of the townspeople really pissed her off, and while it seemed that her daughter was able to brush them off within seconds, she didn't have that luxury. Lillian waved everyone to back up, "This is not the time! She's not answering any questions! Can't you see that you all are bothering Rose? Have some decency and get the hell away from her! Now!" People backed away and fluttered off towards their vehicles.

"That's the Lillian I know and love," Aro winked at her.

Lillian smiled, "Thanks."

Garrett sat in the front seat of his truck, "You all just follow me."

Rosalie approached the car, and took a hold of the door. She released a loud breath she's been holding since she exited the hospital. Emmett went around to the other side, and got into the vehicle as Alice sat in the middle. Before Lillian helped Rosalie into the car, she turned her seventeen year old to face her, "Are you sure baby?" Rose doesn't answer. She simply helps herself into the vehicle and closes the door behind her. Aro is behind the wheel, and Lillian apprehensively gets into the passenger seat.

Her parents and friends held a nice conversation that she wasn't interested in joining. Rose's eyes were focused on the sights outside her window. She had never thought she would be able to see this small town again, and because of how small her town really was, they reached their destination in under ten minutes. Lillian turned to face her daughter from the passenger seat, "I'll ask again. Once we get out of the car, there's no going back."

"I'm ready," Rose steps out onto the street. Aro is at the trunk pulling out her walker. He sets it up, and holds it in place as she walks over to it.

"Does any of this look familiar?" Alice asks, as she closes the car door behind her.

Rose uses the walker to guide her to Garrett, "No." She approaches him, "Is this where you found me?"

"No," he waves for the group to follow him, "I found you in there." Garrett points into the forest.

The struggle to walk through the forest trail was a bit difficult with the walker, but it did manage to keep her from tripping over sticks and branches. Within minutes, the group approached a lake, and Garrett turned to face her, "I found you out there."

"Someone dumped her in water?" Aro asked, throwing his arm around his daughter's shoulders.

Rose leaned into her father's hold, "You jumped in after me?"

"I don't know how long you were floating out there before we found you," Garrett shook his head, "and don't mention it. Austin found you; I jumped in while Kate called the police. Austin helped me pull you out."

Rosalie heard the short story and watched as Garrett left. He had to go into work. Rose was left standing, using her walker for support as she glanced around. She saw the dirt, the trash, the leaves and the hill that leads into the lake. "Does anything look familiar?" As her mother's words whispered through the forest, her eyes glazed over. She saw flashes of herself hitting the water before blinking out of the memory. Her eyes fall down to the ground, and images of rain hitting against her soaking body formed, "It was raining."

"That's right," Emmett encouraged, stepping towards her proudly, "It was raining the day you were brought in."

The seventeen year old points out into the water, "I was floating, face up over there." Alice is nodding along, "I…I rolled into the lake." Rose glanced around her surroundings and spotted a hill, "I was pushed from that hill." She pointed slightly upwards.

"Who pushed you?" Aro urged, yearning for a name.

"My body was pushed down the hill and it landed in the water." Rose slowly put the pieces together as she tried to focus on the silhouette of the man she saw in her memory, "There was a man…he watched me from the hill. It was the same man who pushed me."

"Who was it?" Emmett held her shoulders in his grip, "Focus hard Rose. Focus on who he was so we can get him and put all of this behind us."

Her mind flashes back completely. She feels the strong arms of a man push her down the hill. Her numb body does not feel anything as twigs, branches and trash cut against her body. After seconds of rolling, her brittle body splashes into the lake. Her face in the air as rain beat against it, and her eyes are wide open from the sudden shock of cold water. As her body drifts away from the edge she sees the man, she focuses her vision on him, and seconds before he turned around to walk away, she registered his face.

"I saw him," she blinks out of her memory and turns to face her boyfriend, "I know."

"Who Rose?" he questions.

"Brady."

_  
Royce Sr. swiveled around in his desk chair at the sudden sound of his slamming office door. Strained eyes glared into the eyes of the mayor, as he watched his son angrily pull up a seat, "You said to not jump to conclusions, I didn't." Royce Jr. flopped down into the chair, "You said you can explain everything, well, I'm waiting."

The older King intertwined his fingers, and rested them on top of his desk, "I didn't do it."

"Damn it dad, you did!" Royce Jr. rose from his seat, and pointed an accusatory finger at his father.

"What?"

"I can see through your lies!" He seethed into his father's face, sprinkles of saliva peppering against his father's stoic face, "You're a liar dad! I've been thinking the whole way here, and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise."

"Just here me out…" Royce Sr. extended his hands and slowly rose from his seat.

"Your bruised hands, some of the scratches on your arms," the youngest King interrupted his father, "the fact that you're the only one without an alibi. When you apologized to Rose before they took her off of life support, you weren't apologizing because you had to leave; you apologized for what you did to her!"

"You're my alibi, remember? That's what we told Aro."

"That was a lie!" Royce Jr. hollered at the top of his lungs, "I was not with you dad!"

The mayor walked around his desk, and gradually approached his son, "Right, where were you then? Huh?" His head tilted in mock curiosity.

"That's not important." The young King shakes his head.

The mayor stood, eye to eye, with his only child. Neither backed away as the two men stood nose to nose and chest to chest. Both Kings were growing angrier by the second, and the silence surrounding them made the emotions intensify. Royce Sr. felt betrayed, and he refused to back away from his son's lies, "That's not important?" He repeated his son's earlier statement, "Why isn't it important? Because you didn't do it or because you were with MY WIFE?!

"This is ridiculous! Are you seriously trying to make me look like the bad guy?" He backed away from his father, and turned to face the wooden door, "How can you explain the blood in my trunk?"

"I hit an animal." The mood slowly eased up by the eldest King's admission. The youngest King had his forehead resting against the door, "And you decided to put it in my trunk? Dad that was a lot of blood! What kind of animal did you hit?" He smacked his opened palm against the door before turning to face his father.

"A um…" the mayor scratched the back of his head, "a rabbit."

"Try again…that was too much blood for a damn rabbit."

"I don't have to answer to you." Royce Sr. calmly took a seat in his desk chair.

The leaves crunched under Aro's feet as he began storming through the woods. He pushed branches, twigs and leaves aside in his quest to the main road. The infuriated father heard shouts of protests from his ex-wife as she struggled to catch up to him. In an effort to keep up, Rosalie was on her boyfriend's back and Alice carried Rose's unused medical walker.

"Dad," Rose held onto her boyfriend as Emmett's feet picked up speed, "hurry up Emmett."

Emmett sped up his walk, "I'm trying…"

Lillian managed to reach Aro just as he approached the main road. She took a grip of his arm, "Can you just wait for a second?"

"Your second has passed." Aro snatched his arm out of her hold.

"Rose, please say something to your father."

Emmett, completely out of breath, helped his girlfriend off of his back. He took the walker from Alice, and opened it up for Rosalie to use, "Dad," she calmly took a step forward, "what are we going to do?"

"We aren't going to do anything," Aro hollered, struggling to remain composed, "I'm going to handle this!"

"You made me a promise!"

"No, we had a deal! I let you come, and right afterwards we take you back to the hospital!"

Lillian nudged her daughter, "Aro don't hurt him. We need to handle this the right way. Say something sweetheart!"

Emmett set his hand against his girlfriend's lower back. He helped her as she approached her dad, using the walker for balance, "Daddy, what are you," she took a breath, "what are you going to do?"

"If I tell you, you could be held criminally responsible." Aro turned on his heel and began storming towards the car.

"Can I come?"

Aro sharply turned around, "What? No! Of course not!"

"This is my life dad!" She released her walker, and began approaching him.

"And you are my daughter!" Aro steadied her shaky stance.

"I'll stay in the car. Dad, please. Mom will stay in the car with me…just let me come."

Rose felt her father's hands fervently grab her face, and once eye contact was made, her quivering voice spoke, "Dad, please tell me what you are going to do." And with his hands still pressed against her face, he responded, "Rose, you're my child, and regardless of how old you are and whether or not you can take care of yourself, I'm going to look out for you and protect you. I've always said that I cannot promise to be there for you for the rest of your life, but I promised to love you for the rest of mine, and the thought of not living up to that promise killed me! I. Thought. You. Were. Going. To. Die." He released a sharp breath, "I will admit, I've hardly ever allowed you to handle your own problems, but there's just something in me that causes for me to treat people like a piñata when they treat you like a doormat. The measures I'm willing to take are extreme Rosalie. I would give my last breath for you. I love you unconditionally," He drops his hands, "During your two months, I was going crazy. I didn't know if you were going to wake up from your coma or not, and then your mother signed off on removing you from life support-"

"You pulled the plug on me?" She turned to face her overbearing mother.

"Focus Rosalie. We do not need your father going to prison again."

"This isn't over mom."

Aro took his daughter's hand, and chose to finish his thought, "…the point I'm trying to make is I did not know if you were going to make it. You were brought in on the brink of death! You were barely recognizable! You could have died Rosalie! And the reason why I'm not telling you what I'm going to do is because you're going to try and stop me! Right now, no one can stop me! When I thought your step-brother had something to do with it, I almost beat him into the ground! I questioned everyone! I got into arguments with your mother! I threatened your doctors. I even looked at your brother as a suspect at one point! Rosalie, I've been going crazy for two excruciatingly long months trying to figure out who hurt you…and all of that anger just fumed inside of me." He looks into his daughter's eyes, "The commissioner that we trust to uphold the law, the neighbor that is the father of one of your best friends, and the man that spoke at your vigil and looked me in the eye and said we were going to find who did that to you…he is the one that raped and beat you near death, so whatever I have planned for him is way more merciful than what he deserves."

"Dad," her voice broke.

"You're not changing my mind."

"Dad," her broken voice was more asserted as she maintained eye contact with him, "get him good."

Aro smiled, "That's my girl…everyone get in the car."

The two sat in silence for at least a half an hour. Royce Jr. rose from his seat, and leaned against the corner of his father's desk, "So dad, be honest with me…What did you do?" He crossed his arms across his chest.

"What did you do with my wife?"

Royce Jr. furrowed his brows in confusion, "What?"

"I know why you were atoning," the mayor set his hand upon his son's shoulder and squeezed roughly, "You were with my wife that day."

"How-"

"I saw you." The mayor dropped his hand, "I heard you in her office."

"When was this?"

"…the day Rose was attacked."

Royce Jr. pushed off of his father's desk, "You were at her office? Why?"

"She's MY wife! I don't have to explain myself to you."

The young King pressed his fingers against his temples and began pacing back and forth in front of his father's desk, "You were supposed to be at work."

"And you were too," his father argued.

Royce Jr. stopped pacing, "But you were at the veterinarian's office…"

"Yes."

"And you eavesdropped on a conversation that you knew nothing about."

"I know what's going on with you two!" Royce Sr. hollered at the top of his lungs. It was lunch break so everyone in the office had cleared out for the hour.

"I see."

"What? You assume that I have no proof?"

"And…oh, you assumed what?" Royce Jr. raised his hands in the air, "We were having an affair?"

"You are."

Royce Jr. waved him off, "That's ridiculous!"

"I heard you in her office!"

"Lillian and I are NOT having an affair!" The young King grew angry at the thought of defending himself. He did not come here to be accused of anything. His father had some explaining to do, not him.

"What were you talking about?" Royce Sr. approached his son, and stood chest to chest with him, "Matter of fact, what were you two arguing about?"

"If you're so confident about this whole conversation, why don't you tell me?" he poked his father in the chest.

"You two were sleeping together, you wanted to tell me, and she said no. You two snuck behind my back multiple times in order to satisfy your need for each other."

Royce Jr. looked at his father in pure shock and bewilderment. His hands trembled at his sides as his father's story registered in his head, "You sound crazy." He spoke this in a monotone voice.

"Okay, then why don't you tell me what you two were arguing about my dear sweet son?"

While he gave Lillian his word that he wouldn't say anything, he knew his father. Royce Sr. is a determined man, who would never drop an issue. He was actually surprised that his father waited this long to question him over this supposed affair he was having with his own stepmother.

"Rose," he hung his head low.

Royce Sr. squints in befuddlement, "What?"

"We were arguing about Rose."

Aro stormed into the town's precinct with fury in his eyes. The few officers of the town stopped what they were doing in order to give the man their undivided attention. Aro stood in the center of the station, spotted Jasper, and approached him, "Where's Brady?"

"Did Rose remember anything?"

"Where's your father Jasper?"

Alice calmly walked up to her boyfriend, and took a comforting hold of his hand. His dad may have been guilty, but Jasper was innocent. He didn't deserve the wrath of Aro. When Aro received no answer, he pushed past Jasper and began looking around, "Oh Brady! Brady, where are you?" both civilians and officers in the police station watched him search for the commissioner, "Commissioner Brady! I just want to have a few words with you! Brady! BRADY! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Aro pulled at his dark brunette hair as he continued searching the small, one-floor precinct.

"What is going on?" Jasper looked between Emmett and Alice in confusion. And as a result, his two friends pulled him to the side in order to fill him in. Rose remained sitting in the car with her mother, the two rehashing a previously unfinished conversation about the removing of Rosalie's life support.

Aro approached closed doors, opened them, and peeked inside. He couldn't find Brady anywhere, and no one was saying anything. Jasper had come to the station in order to have lunch with his father, and once Aro remembered that, he turned to face the seventeen year old, "I'm going to ask one more time Jasper, where is your father?"

The teenager turned to face the ex-convict, "This has to be some mistake."

"It isn't," Alice shakes her head, "on the way here, we asked Rose to make sure." Her voice remained low as she kindly spoke to her boyfriend, "Rose was positive." Jasper's face remained calm. He took a step back in order register everything he was just told.

Brady tossed the paper towel into the trash before exiting the restroom. He saw the few officers that their small town employ stare at him in confusion and skepticism. Commissioner Brady spotted Aro, and once the ex-convict spotted him, he made a sharp dash towards him; however Emmett and Jasper were able to latch onto Aro's arms and hold him back.

"I am psychotically protective of the people I care about!" Aro shouted, struggling to rip his arms from the hold of Jasper and Emmett. The football player strength in Emmett arose as he used his force to hold his girlfriend's dad back. Aro was so angry; all he could focus his eyes on was Brady. No one else in the police station was in his line of vision as he allowed for Jasper and Emmett to continually hold him back, "You screwed with us this whole time! You're the police commissioner for Christ sakes! You're supposed to uphold the law! You are scum Brady! Not only did you lie to my face, but you lied to everyone! While saying that you're going to solve this crime and get justice for my daughter, in reality, you were covering it up. You stole the rape kit too, didn't you?!"

"I stole nothing!" Brady argued, quickly approaching the infuriated father, "I didn't steal that damn kit!"

"You deny that, but you don't deny anything else."

Jasper released Aro, and stepped forward, "Dad-"

"I didn't rape Rosalie. I didn't attack her. I wouldn't do that to her."

"I don't like it when people lie to my face," Aro devilishly smiled, "And you are so lucky right now that we're in the middle of a police station because what I'm going to do to you will have you begging me for the mercy that you did not give my daughter."

"Are you threatening to murder me?"

"Murder isn't murder if the body isn't found," Aro stood eye to eye with Brady, "it's just a missing person, how about you remember that?" He pats the commissioner on the shoulder.

Jasper pulled Aro back, and took a stance between Rose's dad and his own, "What did you do dad? You can tell me. I saw the muddy boots two months ago." He dropped his voice as he pleaded with his dad, "You obviously did something. Dad, I wish it wasn't true, but she identified you."

"I don't care mom!" Rose's voice hollered, as she used her walker to storm into the precinct, "I want to see him!" Everyone turns to look at the healing teenager. Officers smiled at the sight of Rosalie because most people thought they would never get the chance to see her and hear her speak again.

"Rose, you know I didn't attack you. I wouldn't do that to you."

"YOU DON'T TALK TO HER!" Aro shoved Brady away from his daughter. Once contact was made between Aro and the commissioner, officers rose to their feet. While Aro accused Brady of doing the unthinkable, they still needed proof. Everyone was innocent until proven guilty.

For the first time since her two month coma, she finally saw his face and registered it. She heard the officers warn Aro to stay away from their boss, but as Rose continued to stare at Brady, his face sparked flashes of that day. She remembered being dragged, and through the storming weather and her hazy vision of that day, she saw Brady's anxious face. Before the officers escorted her father out, she held her hand into the air, "Wait."

Her breathing becomes erratic as her eyes are closed and floods of memories begin flowing through her brain. She grips onto her walker in order to hold herself up, and as more memories started to overwhelm her brain, her knees buckle and the walker is not enough to support her weight. Emmett's arm wraps around her waist, as she struggles to control her breathing and memories, "I remember," her fearful eyes open in seconds.

"You do," Brady stepped forward.

Rose saw the officers release her dad, "Yes."

"Who did it?" Lillian raced over to her daughter. Rose struggled to keep focus as tears flooded her eyes, "Who did that to you?"

"Royce."

"I should have known!" Aro hollers, pushing through the row of officers, "I saw the way he looked at her. I told you Lillian! I had every right to pulverize him!"

Lillian shook her head, "Wait, Rose, are you sure it was Royce Jr?"

"No," Rose shook her head, as Emmett balanced her onto her feet, "it wasn't that one."

Aro's breath caught in his throat, "Royce Sr." His daughter nods.

"Dad, we're sorry."

Aro nodded to back up Jasper's statement, "Yeah. You have to understand where I'm coming from."

"It's okay," Brady nodded, but he didn't pull his eyes away from Rose, "Are you sure it's him? Maybe your memory is a little skewed."

Rose squints at him in pure rage, "He did it! I'm sure of it," Emmett wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders as she continued, "It was Royce Sr." Brady nods as he watches Rose step towards him, "and you."

Royce Sr. used the silence to his advantage. The conversation had managed to take a different approach as the new focus turned to Royce Jr., Lillian and Rosalie. The older King watched as his son approached the window at the end of his office, "You like her?"

"Yes," Royce Jr. nodded.

"And what does this have to do with Lillian, and the conversation I overheard of you with my wife?"

"What did you hear me say?"

"You said it was a mistake," Royce Sr. stood next to his son, as the two both stared out of the window, "It should have never happened."

"And all of that is true…it just wasn't about Lillian!"

Royce Sr. turned his son to face him, "You slept with Rose?"

"Yes…no! No! I did not sleep with her! She's taken! She's had a boyfriend for the last two years!"

The mayor leans his back against the large glass window, "You wanted to?"

"Dad-"

"Did you want to sleep with her?"

"I like her, okay?! I can't help it." The twenty-six year old's hands trembled at his sides, as the remorse in his voice intensified, "All of those years I hated her, I was pretending! Once she was attacked, I couldn't pretend anymore. I came to the hospital. I visited her regularly. I talked to her while she was in her coma, and I brought her flowers to brighten up her room!"

The mayor listened to his son's words, and struggled to piece everything together. Everything he overheard his son say wasn't about Lillian, but was about Rose. All of these years everyone assumed Royce Jr. hated his step-sister, and while his feelings weren't real, hers were.

"She actually did hate you."

"That's because I wanted her to," Royce Jr. admitted, hands fumbling together nervously, "She never knew it, but I treated her the way I did because I wanted her to hate me…that way I knew no one would pick up on anything! I knew I could never act on my emotions! Her hating me made it easier. When you and Lillian got married, she was barely a teenager!"

"That look you have," the mayor pointed at his son's face, "is that the look Aro saw which made him assault you?"

"I didn't know, and to be honest, I didn't know I gave her a look."

"You said you made a mistake. You said you wish you could take it back because you feel horrible." Royce Sr. spoke of his son's earlier words, "What were you referring to?"

"I kissed her."

"What?"

"I kissed her. I kissed Rosalie and Lillian caught me."

"When?"

"…a week before she was attacked."

Royce Sr. was even more appreciative that the conversation stirred clear of the attack; however he was confused about some of the details. His twenty-six year old son kissed his seventeen year old step-sister. He knew Rosalie, and he knew her father. There was no way that could possibly happen without her reacting, telling her father, and the two reacting together. If this were true, he would have heard about it. Someone would have told him.

"I believed you at first, but how do you expect me to believe you now? Rose never said anything. The Rose I know would have said something! Lillian would have told me. I would have known!"

Royce Jr. shook his head, "She didn't know…well, she doesn't know."

"You expect me to believe that you kissed her without her knowing?"

"She was asleep," He ashamedly scratched the back of his head, "I uh, she was feeling under the weather, and she took some sleeping medicine."

"And you kissed her while she was knocked out asleep?"

"Yes," the young King slowly nodded.  
"How did Lillian find out though?"

"She came in to check on her daughter and she saw me. Because the room was dark, I was hoping she wouldn't notice, but she did. She grabbed me by my hair and pulled me out of Rose's room."

The mayor was in need of a seat. His brain was overwhelmed as he processed the truth of his son's words. "Where was I?" Royce Sr. needed some clarification.

"Work."

"You said this was a week before her attack, did I happen to call Lillian that day?"

"Yeah, I was apologizing profusely and she tried to quiet me when she answered the phone. I just assumed she was going to tell you, but I couldn't have her tell Aro or Rose."

The older King rested his head into his hands, "That's when I thought the affair started. I could hear you in the back, but she lied to me…and when I came home, and questioned her again, she still lied. Why would she lie? Why would she protect you?"

"Because I made her."

"What?"

"Before you called, she was yelling at me. She hit me and called me a _predator_ who takes advantage of girls. It was just a kiss dad!"

Royce Sr. felt his breathing grow erratic, "How did you make her keep quiet?"

"Blackmail," his son confessed, avoiding eye contact.

"With what?"

"You were right about Lillian having an affair! It just wasn't with me!"

The mixture of emotions radiating through the mayor seemed to suppress itself into the bottomless pit of his stomach. He dropped his hands, and took a grip of his son's shirt, "How long was this going on? How long was her affair?"

"It just happened once that I'm aware of…it was the day before I kissed Rose."

Fury and rage approached the forefront of Royce Sr. His fist clenched and slammed it down onto his file cabinet. He lifted a framed photo of him and his wife, and tossed it across his office, "With who?"

"Really dad?" Royce Jr. watched his father as he destroyed his office, "Are you that blind?" his father briefly calmed down in order to face his son, "Who does she constantly argue with? Who did she spend days with at the hospital? Who does she have extreme amounts of sexual tension with? Who does she have a lot of unfinished business with?" He could tell his father was piecing everything together in his head as he continued, "Whose marriage was unresolved? Lillian has never been that passionate with you in an argument."

"It can't be him. She hates him and he hates her."

"Has she said that?" Royce Jr. tilted his head in curiosity, "Has he said that to her?"

"No, but their actions prove it. When Rose had her accident-"

"First of all, that was NO accident! And secondly, when do you normally see people who love each other withdraw from one another?" He smirked crazily and crossed his arms, "when their child is in danger! They blamed each other! That passion intensified between them dad, and you're blind not to see it."

The mayor cleared his throat and swallowed hard, "Did they sleep together?"

"No, but she kissed him. They held hands, and had a moment. She immediately felt guilty and apologized, but I used that guilt to keep her quiet."

"…and when you atoned?"

"I was with Lillian. She's my alibi, and if she wasn't with me, she wouldn't have had to postpone on Rose and Rose wouldn't have gotten attacked," he noticed the drop of his father's face, "and speaking of attacked and the look on your face, did you attack Rosalie and stuff her body into the trunk of my car?!"

Royce Sr. knew eventually talk would turn back to Rosalie's attack. The mayor glanced out of his window and sighed. He knew eventually everything would come out, and while the guilt tore at him and pushed him to work longer hours and remain distant from Rosalie, there was just a matter of time. He reached for his son's hand, "I can explain."

"Why would you do that?!" Royce Jr. snapped, shoving his father against the nearest wall, "Why would you hurt her?"

"I thought my wife was sleeping with my child!"

"And what? You figured you'll return the favor and sleep with hers?!"

"I wanted her to know how it felt. I wanted Lillian to know how it feels for your spouse to sleep with the one person who should have been off limits."


	18. The Storm Arrives

**Chapter Disclaimer: For the next two chapters, descriptive words, some vulgar language and memories will be used…so just be advised for some disconcerting images and inappropriate word choice. **

Lillian sat in the passenger seat of Victoria's automobile. She ignored the chatter surrounding her as she focused on the sights of Mother Nature passing by in a matter of seconds. Her daughter sat in the middle of the backseat with her boyfriend and Alice sitting on each side of her. In the side mirror, Lillian could see Brady's car following closely behind them with Jasper in the passenger seat. They were all heading to her husband's office. As her eyes drifted off towards the view in front of her, her thoughts began to wonder. Royce Sr. did this to her daughter. Her husband beat and raped her child, and for two, almost three whole months, she didn't know. She cried to him. She allowed him to comfort her when he was around. He was the mayor and he spoke at her daughter's vigil. Lillian tried to blink the tears out of her eyes, but it was a fruitless attempt. She felt at fault. She felt the blame because she brought that man into her daughter's life. As a hiccup of a cry escaped her lips, she felt a reassuring hand encompass hers, "It's not your fault." Her ex-husband whispered, trying to ease the dreadful atmosphere surrounding the inside of the car, "You had no way of knowing how sick and demented your husband is. You guys were married for five years, and he showed no signs of," Aro hesitated as his eyes flashed towards his silent daughter, "he showed no signs of attraction towards Rosalie."

"His son did though," Lillian argued, snatching her hand away from Aro.

Aro quickly glanced towards his ex-wife, before pulling his eyes back onto the road, "What?"

"Royce Jr. doesn't really hate Rose. He only acted like that because he had an inappropriate attraction towards her." Lillian's voice broke as she gathered herself together in order to admit the truth, "I found out his true feelings for Rose about a week before she was attacked. She was sick and he kissed her while she was asleep. I caught him. I made him move out and promise to stay away from her."

Aro pressed down upon the brakes, heard Brady honk his horn in surprise, as he pulled over to the side of the road. Everyone's ears perked up at the admission of Lillian's honest words. The oldest Hale placed the car in park, unstrapped his seat belt and turned to face Lillian, "How come you didn't tell me about this?"  
"Or me," Rose leaned forward in the seat, "Mom, I thought we didn't keep secrets."  
"He found out about what happened between us," Her eyes fell upon Aro.  
Rosalie looked between both of her parents, "And what happened between…oh, wow, okay." She sat back in her seat, "Is that…is that why Royce Sr. hurt me?"  
"I don't know," Aro placed the car back into drive, "but we're definitely going to find out."

As the car pulled back onto the main road, Lillian unstrapped her seat belt, "Rose," she turned around partially to face her daughter, "I'm so sorry baby! I should have protected you better! I should have known something…done something! I should have prevented this!" Rosalie's heart broke at the sound of her mother's wailing voice, and while she wanted to comfort and assure her mother, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her brain told her to reach forward and rub her mother's shoulders, but her body did the opposite. Lillian's chin trembled at the sight of her daughter turning her head away, and crossing her arms, "Rose, please! If I would have known he was capable of something like this, I would have stopped him! I wouldn't have married him!"

"Mom, do you honestly love me?" Rose turned back to glare into her mother's eyes.

"Of course!"

"Why'd you marry him then? Why did you protect Royce Jr. after he kissed me? Why did you withdraw me from life support? Why do I seem to always suffer because of things you do?"

Lillian couldn't bring herself to answer her daughter's questions. She was speechless. She could honestly say that every fiber of her being loved her kids. Everything she has ever done, she did it with her children in mind. She married Royce Sr. for the financial stability that being the mayor provided them. She withheld the information from her daughter because she thought it would do less harm to handle the situation herself than get Rose and Aro involved. And initially she didn't want to withdraw her daughter from treatment, but over the course of 24 hours, she considered opinions and she thought about it, and figured it was the best option.

"Rose," the seventeen year old looked at her father after he called her, "I've seen your mother over these last few months. She was a wreck. She hardly ever left your bedside. She was devastated. And I understand that you're upset, you have every right to be, but don't be upset at the wrong person. We're all on the same side. We're heading to the bastard that hurt you."

The high-school student sighed, and nodded her head, "I'm sorry mom."

"You don't have to apologize."

"I'm sorry everyone," she rubbed her hands over her face, "I know I've been a bitch since I woke up, but I really do appreciate you all being by my side every step of the way. Thanks Alice," she glances at her best friend, and then turns to her boyfriend, "Thanks Em." He smiles and leans forward to peck her forehead.

Lillian snaps back into reality when the car is placed in park. She feels her heartrate increase at the anticipation of confronting her husband. She had things she needed to say and questions to get answered. Aro and Lillian were going to get justice for their daughter, no matter what the cost. She saw Jasper and Brady step out of the car. Lillian approached him in anger, "It's a disgrace to see you in that uniform. You give law enforcement a bad name." She gave his commissioner's uniform a once over, and eyed the weapon holstered on his belt, "You are scum, and you'd be better off dead."

"Lillian!" she heard Alice shout her name.

The nervous mother jumped, turned around and raced over to her daughter's best friend. Before she could question the problem, her eyes fell upon her hyperventilating daughter. Rose clenched her chest, inhaled and exhaled deeply, "Mom," she struggled to say in a panic, "I can't control it." Lillian was all too familiar with hyperventilation.

She gripped her daughter's shoulders, and forced eye contact, "What's wrong? Why are you panicking? Tell me what's going on." Her daughter pointed over her shoulder, and the group turned to face an illegally parked car. She glanced at the car a few feet from the entrance, and it registered in her head, "That's Royce Jr.'s car." She turned back to her daughter, "Do you recognize it? Are you remembering?"

Rosalie nods her head, and grips her forehead as visions of that day flashed through her mind._ Her body was picked up, and her back was slammed against the car. _Her breathing increased as she looked around at the worried faces struggling to calm her. Rose couldn't process anything they were saying as flashbacks continued to penetrate her mind. _She felt his strong arms shove her to the ground. _Emmett pulled his girlfriend into his arms the moment he saw tears fall from her eyes. Her breathing was tamed for now as his arms circled around her. _She tried to crawl away, but he opened the backseat of the car and threw her inside._ Emmett felt his shirt dampen with the drops of her tears. Her hands fearfully clenched his muscle shirt as the memory continued to escalate. _She tries to crawl straight towards the other backseat door, but his hands grabbed at her ankles. _Her breathing picked up once again. The hyperventilation came back and she released Emmett's shirt and pulled herself out of his hold. _Her nails press into the seat cushions, and she feels her hands tear into the seat as she's being dragged back. Her screaming wails remain unheard, except by her assailant. _Rose comes completely out of the flashback when her father picks her up, and throws her over his shoulder. She sees the car disappear, as her mother holds the main door open and allow for them to enter first.

No one was there. Aro sits his daughter down into the empty receptionist chair, reaches into the mini fridge underneath the desk, and pulls out a water bottle, "Drink this." Her breathing begins to slowly calm and the flashes completely stop. Aro runs his hand through her blonde hair, "How are you feeling?"

"Let's just say," Rose opens the bottle, "if I were a horse, someone would have shot me and put me out of my misery by now," she chugs down half of its contents, "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Her mother rubbed her shoulder, "You don't owe us any explanation."

"Was it Royce Jr.'s car that did that to you?" her father stooped low in front of her.

"I…I was raped in the backseat of it."

Aro said nothing. He simply stood up, walked over to the elevator, and pressed the up button. Lillian approached him, "Brady you're coming with us. The rest of you stay down here with Rose."

"Mom-"

"You're not coming. You nearly had a heart attack just by seeing the car. No," she glanced at Aro as he stepped into the elevator first, "your father and I will handle both Royce Sr." she turned to face the commissioner, "and Brady."

"Rose, I'm sorry," Brady admitted, eyeing his angry son comforting the seventeen year old, "Please forgive me."

* * *

After dismissing everyone who worked within the mayor's office, Royce Jr. closed the curtains. He had just received the worst news he could ever get, and before he decided on the next step, he needed to try to understand where his father was coming from. Royce Jr. edgily took a seat in his father's office chair, his hands wrapped and tightened around the arms of the chair, "You did it for no reason because…we didn't sleep together! We weren't having an affair!"  
"I know that!" The mayor snapped agitatedly, taking a seat across from his son, "And don't you think I feel guilty because of it?!"

Royce Jr. rose from his seat, and crossed the room, "You should have spoken to us." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, "You're my father! You should have confronted me! You shouldn't have jumped to conclusions!"

"You and Lillian should not have withheld information from me."

"Oh," the younger King shrugged, "so now it's our fault?"

"…partially."

Royce Jr. felt an internal struggle. While he wanted his father to admit to him what he had done, he didn't want to see his father suffer. It was a mistake…a simple accident. If his dad didn't assume, none of this would have happened. His father wasn't a monster. He doesn't just go around and attack people. He could hear his father standing up, and approaching him, and because of that he swiftly turned around and shook his head, "Why did you have to beat her so bad?" He rests his hands upon his father's shoulder, "why'd you have to beat her to that extent?'

The mayor took a hard look at his healing hands, "I thought my wife was cheating on me. I assumed it and when I thought I had proof, I saw red. I couldn't control myself. I was just…I was just so angry…and scared." He heard a door slam.

"You were scared?" The sound of a familiar voice sparked their curiosity. The two men looked up at the new arrivals storming into Royce Sr.'s office, "She was scared!" Lillian hollered, racing up to her husband, "You…you filthy piece of garbage," she turned him around to face her, and before she could utilize any amount of self-control, her hand balled into a fist and connected with his face, "You used her trust in you against her!" she tried to shake the pain out of her hand, "So, how'd you get her? Did you follow her? How long were you planning this you poor excuse for a human being?"

"It wasn't planned. It just…it just happened." Royce Sr. hung his head low and struggled to keep distance between himself and Lillian and Aro.

"So you just saw her and thought, hmm," she taps her finger against her chin, "I should attack Rosalie and rape her just so I can get my stupid cheating ass wife back?"

"Yes," and at the admittance of her husband's thought process, Lillian clenched her fist and punched him again.

"You…you" she can't form the words to say next.

"You can call me what you want. There's nothing you can say that will make me feel worse."

"If you feel so bad," Lillian stood face to face with him, "why didn't you come clean? This secret put this town in fear! Not knowing who did it drove us all crazy!"

"I'm the mayor!"

"That didn't stop you from raping my child!"

Royce Jr. stood back, being mindful of the growing rage in Aro's eyes. Aro understood that Lillian needed to get some emotions off of her chest, but a part of him wanted her to hurry it up. He had something for both Brady and Royce Sr.

"You were angry with me for kissing Aro. You did this because of a five second kiss!"

"No," Royce Sr. shook his head.

"What? I thought you did this to get back at me."

"I did," the mayor stepped back in order to increase the distance between him and his wife, "I didn't know about you and Aro until today. I assumed you were having an affair, but I thought it was with my son."

Lillian began to register the motive behind her husband, soon-to-be ex attack against her child. She raised her hands into the air, and took a step back. She could hear her stepson attempt to approach her, "My dad overheard us in your office the day Rose got attacked. He thought he heard us talking about us having an affair, but I told him that he misunderstood. It was just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Lillian couldn't control herself, as she clenched the same fist and swung it into the side of Royce Jr.'s face, "A damn misunderstanding?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"I'm on your side," Royce Jr. hollered, rubbing against his reddened face.

The mayor turned his son to face him, "Her side? You are my son. I understand that I made a mistake, but after what you've told me, you should understand!"

"Dad, you shouldn't have done that."

"What," the oldest King squints his eyes in disbelief, "I already regret what I did. I regretted it from the moment I hurt her. I wish I can take it back, especially considering it was for nothing, but you have no right to lecture me. You wanted her too!" Royce Sr. shoved his son, "You're just jealous that I got to her first."

Aro stepped forward, "What kind of sick family did you marry into?" Lillian already mentally questioned that from the moment she left the police station.

Lillian glanced down at her bruising knuckles. While she was usually against violence, she was all for it now. If someone hurts her or her children, she was willing to do anything to make them pay if justice failed her, and right now it did. The only evidence linking Royce Sr. to the crime was gone, and he say/she say is inadmissible in court. She clenched her aching fist and turned to face the commissioner who was currently still standing by the door, "What did you do with the rape kit? Where did you take it?"

"I didn't steal it." Brady reminded, easing himself further into the office, "It's destroyed, but I did not take it."

"Who did then?"

Brady cleared his throat, "Bella and Renee."

"What? You're lying!" Lillian refused to allow his truth to sink in, "Bella is friends with Rosalie and Renee is a close friend of mine! Why would they do that?"

"Because they thought Charlie hurt your daughter."

The frustrated mother covered her mouth as she processed the last two months. Most of the reasoning behind this whole thing was due to misunderstandings. A lot of holes were being filled in. Renee and Bella could hardly look her in the eye, and when Rose woke up, they could hardly stand to be around her. It was the guilt.

"Who else was involved in this little cover up?" She crossed her arms, "Charlie? Jasper? Alice? Emmett? Elizabeth? Who Brady? Who the hell came together and schemed to cover up my daughter's attack?"

"Laurent," Royce Sr. answered before his closest friend had the chance, "He only knew because we needed him to lie about Rose coming into the store. We paid for his grandmother's medical fees in return."

"All of this because you were trying to hurt me," Lillian's voice cracked, and her hands rose over her head, "well congratulations, you've done it!"

"Don't cry…" Royce Sr. attempted to soothe.

"Get away from me," She snapped, stepping back from his approaching form, "I'm not crying because of you; you're not worth it." She wipes her eyes, "I hate you."

"You don't mean that." He reached his hand out for her.

She instantaneously steps back, "I despise you. I. Hate. You."

"YOU DON'T MEAN THAT!"

"Why would you think I didn't mean it?"

"Because I admitted to you that it was a misunderstanding and a mistake!" His hands fidgeted against his sides, "If you just stay calm and control your anger for one second, then we can-"

"Did you just tell me to stay calm? Did you just tell me to control MY anger?! I don't need to control my anger Royce," she approached him, and shoved him back, "you need to control your habit of pissing me off!"

"You're being unreasonable."

"I'm going to kill him Aro," she looked at her ex-husband with menacing eyes, "I'm going to kill him."

The mind of Royce Sr. seemed to have been twisted. While he may have stated his regrets for what he did to Rosalie, it seems that it was just words. He kept making excuses. He kept blaming other people, and now it seems that he refuses to see the atrocity of his actions. Royce Sr. appeared to be more focused on the fact that his wife no longer loved him than on accepting responsibility for what he did to her. As minutes passed, he could feel his face stiffening up, "This is not the real you. You are not violent. You are calm, you are forgiving, you are kind and you are compassionate. That is the Lillian that I fell in love with…and that is the Lillian that I'm willing to risk everything for."

"That lovely, sweet, generous and caring person you've known me to be," she pressed her chest against his as she growled into his face, "When it comes to you, she's gone. And in her place is the bitch that doesn't give a fuck about you." She raised her hands and pressed her fingers against her temples, "You are one sick and twisted son of a bitch. And if you so much as think I can find any ounce of forgiveness for you after what you did, motive or not, then you are crazier than I thought. That is my child that you hurt. And I don't care if it wasn't planned, I don't care if you misunderstood, and I sure as hell don't care if you're sorry because the fact still remains that you attacked my daughter, and even if it's the last thing I do you are going to pay."

"You don't mean that."

"STOP telling me what I mean!"

"YOU DON'T MEAN THAT!"

His words vibrated through the walls of his office as her eyes glared hatred into his. Any feelings she has ever had for him are now completely gone. She had no ounce of love in her heart for the man standing before her. The mayor looked into his wife's eyes and could see no emotion for him. She had no feelings left to give him, and in all honesty, it pained him. His wife turning her back on him broke his heart.  
"You make a horrible wife," he spat, eyeing her peevishly; "you didn't stand by Aro when he went to prison, and now you won't stand by me. You love Aro, but you've never loved me the same. He's a criminal. He's a murderer. He-"

"Are you crazy?! Did none of this sink in? You _raped _my daughter! How dare you compare yourself to him?" She crosses her arms, and turns away from the mayor, "Everything that he has done was to protect Rose! It was selfless! You say you feel guilty, but I see no remorse. You are a coward Royce. Instead of confronting me or your son, you approach and take advantage of a seventeen year old girl. I hate you. I lost all respect for you. And if Aro doesn't kill you, I will."

The mayor surveys his wife and realizes that she did not want to be comforted…at least not from him. Her body shook in anger and it took all of her strength to hold herself back from punching him again. Royce Sr. approached his window, and drew the curtains, "Life used to be good."  
"That's before you decided to screw it up," Aro interjected, watching as Royce Sr. stared out of the window, "And you seem pretty calm for a guy that raped the daughter of an ex-convict. Lillian is the least of your concerns. She said what she had to say, and I'm going to do what's needed to be done." Aro cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward, "Lillian come here."

Lillian took a deep breath, and backed away from her husband. She stood beside her ex, and felt his arms wrap around her, "Are you okay?"

"How are you not upset?" She wipes her eyes.

"Oh," his eyes grow wide, "I'm upset. You needed to confront him. You deserved to give him a piece of your mind. You needed that…and now that you're done, I want you to stand back by the door."

She shakes her head, "No. I'm not leaving this time. I'll stay with you and we'll share the responsibility." Lillian feels his hand set against the side of her face, "I'm not leaving." She repeats.

"I said I was sorry!" Royce Sr. barked, slamming his fist against the file cabinet positioned beside him, "Want me to apologize again? I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I am so sorry!"

"And what?" Aro turned away from Lillian, "You think a half-ass apology is going to make up for what you did? What's even more pathetic than your unaccepted apology is your ignorance towards the damage you've done!"

The mayor lifted his hands, "Aro you have to believe me when-"

"I don't have to believe ANYTHING you say," the roaring of Aro's voice caused for Royce Sr. to fearfully step back and press his back against the large window, "Your words mean nothing to me! And I'm sick and tired of hearing you make excuses! I'm here for one reason and one reason only!"

Within an instant flash, Aro raced over to Brady, and knocked him off his feet by the swinging of his large fist. Before the commissioner could register what was happening, he felt Aro lower himself and begin erupting into a savage cry as his fists began making impact with his body. The older Hale didn't even pay attention to where his fists were making impact, and once Brady lifted his hands in order to block his face, Aro used the chance to swipe the loaded gun from the commissioner's holster. Brady groaned in pain as Aro rose to his feet, aiming the weapon at a panicking Royce Sr. Lillian approached her ex-husband, "Do it." Her voice was assertive as his hands gripped the handle of the gun, "Do it Aro!"

"Don't," Royce Jr. hollered, inserting himself back into the conversation.

"Ignore him and kill him Aro!"

Royce Jr. raced up to Lillian in a pleading panic, "He's my father!"

"And Rose is our daughter!"

Brady moaned out in pain, as he used the mayor's desk to pull himself up into a seating position, "Don't do it Aro." His voice sounded pained as he struggled to pull his aching body to his feet, "We'll get justice for Rosalie."

"How?" Aro shouted, his finger brushing over the trigger, "there's no evidence! He's a mayor! You're the freaking commissioner! And if justice won't be served in the courtroom, it'll be served here…right now."

Royce Sr. pulled his back from off of the window glass, his eyes stared down at the ground and his hands were raised, "Don't do this. I have a son. My wife is watching."

"Do it," Lillian interrupted.

"I can't rewind time! I said I was sorry! I mean it, I'm SORRY!"

An animalistic scream echoed from Aro's lips as bullets were fired from the gun. Lillian covered her ears and closed her eyes. Brady struggled to storm over towards Aro, but the attack to his lower abdomen left his body weak. Royce Jr. watched in shock as each bullet landed into the window, and seconds later, the entire window glass went shattering, half onto the carpeted floor of his father's office and the other half onto the pavement outside of the three-story window.

Lillian peeled her eyes open at the realization that the gun was completely out of bullets, and instead of sighing in relief, she gasped in shock, "Why didn't you kill him?!"  
"Thank you," Royce Sr. slowly lowered his hands.

Aro lowered the gun, "You're not going to get away with this."  
He felt the weapon snatched from his hold by Brady, "You are lucky that no one got hurt." Brady holstered his weapon.

"Thank you for not killing my dad," Royce Jr. gave Aro an appreciative smile, "None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. You can't-"

"If you continue to talk," Aro lowered his voice as his eyes remained on the older King, "I will kill you instead."

Lillian felt her chest heave as her hands clenched her blonde hair. Sobs racked through her body. Brady had his gun and there were no more bullets left in it. Through her teary vision, she could see Aro tearing his eyes away from her husband, and landing upon hers, "Lil-"

"No!" she feels him pull her into his arms, "No! He's going to get away with this! We'll have to walk around this town seeing that smug look on his face knowing that he got away with it! Our daughter will have to live with this!" Lillian tries to pull herself out of his hold, but he holds on tightly, "You had one job and you blew it! Why Aro?" her hands begin hitting against his chest, "I was willing to take the fall with you. I would have stayed by your side this time! He hurt our daughter! How could you not kill him?"

"Shooting him would be too merciful of a death."

The older blonde slowly pulled out of her ex-husband's arms, and stared up at his eyes. She saw a spark behind them, and before she could question him on it, he turned and raced up to Royce Sr. His hands clenched into fists, and he swung and made impact with the mayor's nose. After the initial crunch, she watched as Royce Sr. fell back, his hands extending out for something…anything to grab onto.

* * *

The sound of gunshots pulled Rose to her feet. She looked around the room and spotted the worried looks of her closest friends. Emmett raced over to her side, and took a hold of her hand, "Everything will be alright babe, and your parents are handling things."

"Yeah Rose," Jasper nodded, setting his hand upon her shoulder.

She brushed his hand off, "Did you know?"

"Of course not! I had no idea!"

Rosalie looked into the eyes of one of her closest friends. She could always read Jasper, and she could tell that what he said was the truth. Jasper tried again and set his hand upon her shoulder, "I'm sorry for the part my dad played in this."

Rose brushed his hand off again, and the look on Jasper's face dropped. Before he could read into the gesture too much, he felt her throw her arms around him. She stifled a cry, "Why would your dad do that to me? Why would he help my stepfather? What have I ever done to him?"

"I don't know," Jasper leaned his head against the top of hers, "I wish I had answers for you, but I don't. And I know he's my father, but I hope you get justice."

"I won't," she pulled out of his arms, "I've come to terms with it."

Alice spoke up, "I thought you did all of this to get justice."

"I did," Rose nodded to back up her best friend's statement, "until I found out who did it. My stepfather is the freaking mayor, and your dad," she points at Jasper, "is the police commissioner. I might as well get used to the idea of constantly running into them as I live in this town. I'm a junior, I'll have to probably do summer school and after I graduate next year, I'll finally be freed of them. Hopefully, I'm not too screwed up by that point."

"You're way stronger than me," Alice rubbed her hand against Rose's back, "I could never do-" Her words were interrupted by the sound of a loud thump. The four teenagers looked around as Emmett eased towards the main door. He pushes the entrance door open, and peeks his head out, "Oh shit," he quickly pulls the door shut, "you don't want to go out there."

"What is it?" Alice asks, running over to the door.

"It isn't important."

Rose walked over, "Em, what's out there?" She presses her face against the glass and squints through the tinted window, "Is that…" She pulls away, "Emmett let us out."

"Babe, it's not a good idea to go out-"

"Now!" Her voice hollered, and she stormed through the door after he stepped out of her way.

Her feet immediately come to a quick halt, and her hand flies over her mouth. Inches away from where she stood, rested the wounded body of her stepfather. His left leg was bent into an off and broken direction. Blood was gushing out of his dislocated nose. His face was bruising and swelling up from the hard crash against the concrete. His left arm was broken out of its socket. And blood drooled down the opening of his mouth. The punch that Aro hit against Royce Sr.'s face was strong enough to dislocate the nose bone and push him out of a broken three-story window. Alice stands beside her best friend, and glances up to the window where the mayor had recently fallen from. The gurgles of blood and the whispering of Rose's name is what pull the group towards the conscious mayor.

"Rose…"

Rose takes small and safe steps towards Royce Sr. and when she approaches his fractured body, she lowers herself to her knees, "Rose," he whispers her name again as she sits upon her knees. Before she could respond, she hears Emmett approach and stoop down in order to sit beside her, "Let's go back inside." He takes her hands.

"Look at him," she gave her stepfather a once over, "he won't make it out here. He looks horrible. He's in pain."

"I'm…I'm," Royce Sr. spits out blood, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Her voice shouts, slamming her hand down against his chest and he coughs once more, "You're sorry?! Well sorry isn't good enough! Sorry doesn't cut it! Sorry won't take back what you did to me! Sorry won't make me forget! Sorry won't give me back the two months I missed!" She hits him again in rage, "And sorry definitely won't heal me!"

If she were a cartoon character, steam would be blowing out of her mouth and nose. She was enraged. And the moment she saw actual tears fall out of his eyes, her rage grew to new levels. Rose leans forward and grabs his shoulders, "Stop crying! You don't get to cry!" She pulls him up into a seating position, but his body is too weak to hold itself up without her help.

"I need an ambulance," he murmurs as she shakes him roughly.

"So did I."

"I need," he coughs up more blood, "I need a hospital!"

"So did I!"

"Please! I need help!"

"SO DID I!"

"I wish I could take it back," blood begins dripping down his chin, and as a result, she releases him and watches as he falls back, "I would do anything to go back in time and erase what I did to you. I am truly sorry."

She wipes the corners of her eyes, "Why should I help you? You and Brady left me out there to die. Why shouldn't I leave you here?"

"You're not a monster! You're not like me." He pauses briefly as coughs of blood erupt from his mouth and sprinkle against his face, "Please. You will get justice for what me and Brady did to you. You'll get justice Rosalie!"

"Don't lie to her!" a booming voice shouted as he swiftly kicked against the side of Royce Sr.'s injured abdomen

Royce Jr. raced outside, "Stop!"

"End this now!" Brady hollered in authority.

Lillian ran towards her daughter and pulled Rosalie to her feet. Emmett remained sitting on the ground beside the empty space Rosalie once sat. "Alice," Lillian waved her daughter's friend over, "can you take her into the building?"

"Sure."

"No!" Rose stepped out of her mother's embrace. She runs towards the mayor and spots his eyes drifting in and out of consciousness, "Why," she leans low and begins to shake him awake, "Why did you do this?" the shaking pulls his eyes open, "I've known you for almost half of my life! Why did you hurt me?" Royce Sr. refuses to speak.

Rosalie stopped shaking him and brushed her hands against her jeans. She was ready to give up on the interrogation. It would just be one thing that she did not know, but before she could fully drop the question, she watched her father stoop forward, grip Royce Sr.'s dislocated nose and twist it, "Tell her."

She heard the mayor scream in pain, "No!"

"Tell her," Aro grips it tighter and twists it harder. Royce Sr. starts screaming louder and wriggling his body against the pavement, "Alright! Please, I'll do it. Just…I need help."

Aro lets go and allows for Royce Sr. to fill her in. The overprotective father would have held his daughter in his arms, but Emmett had that covered. Emmett stood, his strong arms wrapped protectively around his girlfriend as her head lay resting against his chest. As the truth spilled out of the mayor's mouth, the young ears of Rose and her friends registered what he was saying. Emmett couldn't believe it. The football player's eyes were wide enough to raise panic and fear in Lillian as she watched him comfort her daughter. Rosalie begins sobbing in his arms, but the truth to Royce Sr.'s words distracted Emmett, and as a result, Lillian pulled her daughter out of his arms and into hers. Emmett didn't notice. He once again sits down upon his knees in the previous spot Rose once sat. He didn't look up as Jasper sat on the opposite side of Royce Sr. Aro stood at Royce Sr.'s feet and watched the two boys suspiciously.

Royce Sr. groaned loudly in pain. He wanted to clench his nose, but only one arm worked properly. He wanted to get up and run, but one of his legs was completely useless. He could only stay put and lay in his own blood. Brady could hear his friends groans of agony and decided now was the time to try again, "Alright, you all had your fun. I'm calling this in to get him some help."

"No," Emmett stares down and watches as the mayor continues to suffer. Rosalie briefly pulls herself away from her mother in order to glance at her boyfriend.

"What do you mean?" Brady squints his eyes questionably at the seventeen year old.

"I mean…shouldn't you be arresting him?" Emmett doesn't pull his eyes away from Royce Sr. as he responds, "Will you arrest him after he's checked out at the hospital?"

"There's no evidence," Brady reminds.

"He confessed! You heard it!"

Aro shakes his head, "Justice won't be served because he knows if Royce Sr. goes down, so does he. That's why they got Bella and Renee to steal the rape kit."

"Wait," Rose looks at her father.

Alice looks at Aro as well, "What?"

"Dad," Jasper briefly glances up to his father before back down at the mayor, "you're confessing to what you did, right?"

"It's not that simple."

"Not that simple?" Jasper repeated, clenching his fists against his lap, "He raped her and you covered it up! You both belong in prison!"

"Listen to me…"

"No," Jasper shakes his head.

"You want to get him help so he can live his life, carry on as mayor and continue on his jolly way?" Emmett hollered from over his shoulder. He couldn't see the commissioner, but he knew Brady was listening.

"Look at him! He suffered enough!" Brady would have been drawn his weapon, but he was currently out of bullets thanks to Aro.

"He'll be a constant reminder. Rose will have to see him," Emmett reminded, refusing to give his girlfriend any eye contact. He couldn't look at her right now. "And are you telling me that no one can get justice for her," Emmett sees Brady nod in his peripheral, "Fine. If you won't get her justice," he presses his hand down upon Royce Sr.'s nose, "then I will." His opposite hand covers the mayor's mouth.

When the realization of what was happening finally registered, the mayor used whatever energy he could muster up in order to fight back. His good arm flailed, and as a result Jasper held down both the good and bad arm. His screams were muffled due to the hand pressing down against his mouth. Pain from Jasper holding down his broken arm surged through his body. The throbbing in his nose increased as Emmett pushed down harder.

While Brady didn't have bullets in his gun, he still had a duty. He stepped forward, ready to intervene before it was too late, however Aro stepped around the two boys and stood chest to chest with the commissioner. Aro wanted Brady to give him another reason to beat his ass.

Holding onto her daughter's hand, Lillian spots Royce Jr. slowly making his way. Without letting go, she extends her free hand to push him back, "I dare you to interfere."

"He is my father!"

Lillian shakes her head, "No. He was your father."

Rosalie didn't want to look, but every part of her was pushing her to do so. She inched her head in the direction of Royce Sr.'s grunts and groans. Her eyes fell upon his wide ones, and she watches. She watches as his body thrashes. She watches as his body jerks. She watches as the grunts and groans slowly drift away. And she watches as the mayor stops fighting back. The boys let go, and her boyfriend's eyes begin to water. Aro leaves Brady's side and pulls Emmett to his feet. Her boyfriend's hands shook against his side as Aro pulled him into his arms, "What did I do?" Aro's muscular arms hold Emmett in a hug.

"You got justice for Rose," Aro's arm remained wrapped around Emmett's shoulders and he turned to glance at Jasper, "both of you did."

"I killed him," Emmett whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear besides Aro.

"If you didn't, I would have."

Rosalie pulls herself out of her mother's arms. She races over to the deceased body of her attacker. As she looks at him, her memories begin flooding into her brain. Her cries are loud as she is forced to relieve that day. She kicks him. She falls to the ground. She hits him. And all everyone else does is watch. It's all they can do because Rose needs this. She needs to let it out. She deserves to take out all of her pain and frustration on the man who hurt her.

"Come here," Lillian whispers, extending her arms for her daughter. She allowed Rose to release her anger, and now that the urge to cry is trembling Rose's face, she wants her daughter to know that she'll always be there. Rose takes her mother up on her offer, and closes in the short distance. Lillian's arms wrap tightly around her seventeen year old, and she refuses to let go. Her arms tighten as she feels Aro circle in on the hug. Rose's knees buckle as the full memories of that day played through her mind, and instead of worrying about whether she would fall to the ground, she allowed her parents to hold her up and keep her together.

**-Tiffany.**


	19. What Happened to Rosalie Hale?

**Warning, scenes of sexual violence and abuse are present in this chapter.**

Rosalie impatiently sat in the living room of her father and uncles' apartment. Her fingers tapped eagerly against the end table positioned beside her as she waited for her father to finish getting ready. Her dad had to go to the auto shop, and while she normally went with him to work, today was a special day. Today, her brother was coming home. The excitement surrounding his inevitable arrival kept her up last night. She tossed and turned in her bedroom, and decided on not getting any sleep. In the wee hours of the morning, she went into her father's room, woke him up and talked with him about just how excited she was to throw her brother a surprise, welcome back party. And while he deserved so much more, it was always the thought that counts. Rose also appreciated her father. When she walked in his room before the crack of dawn, he didn't turn her away and order her out, he simply pat a spot next to him, allowed for her to sit down and express her excitement to him. Everyone knew about the party, and she couldn't wait to see the look on James' face when he walked through the door of their mother's home.

"Dad," Rose stood up from the couch, "Dad, we're going to be late! He comes home in a few hours!" She began pacing nervously around the couch, "Mom is supposed to leave work early today to pick me up. I still have to buy the decorations for the party and set up! I have to cook too! Dad, we really need to get a move on things!"

Aro laughed, "Really Rosalie?" He poked his head out of his bedroom, and held up a small piece of paper, "Why did you tape this paper with the word 'swag' on my light switch?"

"So when you wake up every morning, you can turn your swag on," she laughed loudly, as she clenched her stomach. Her chuckles eased her nerves as the joke only made sense in her head.

He balled the paper up, "You're insane."

"It's a part of my personality." She crossed her arms, and tilted her head, "Now what's taking you so long?"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" He grabbed his shoes and stepped out of his bedroom.

Caius and Marcus had already headed into the auto shop. They had a lineup of cars that needed to be worked on, and while Aro truly wanted to attend the party for James, he knew it was best for him to go into work and help his brothers. He and his ex-wife held a love-hate relationship, and over the past few weeks, the two of them have been having a complicated relationship. Aro didn't want for any awkwardness between them to outshine the arrival of her eldest child.

"Let me just put on my shoes," he took a seat on the couch, and began pulling on his boots. He couldn't help but chuckle as his daughter excitedly paced around the apartment, "I enjoy seeing you so happy. It's refreshing. It brightens my day. Never lose that smile baby girl."

"Dad, you're so sappy!" She laughed, extending her hand towards her father.

He took a hold of her smaller hand, and pulled himself to his feet. He wrapped the same arm around her shoulders, and held her in close, "Am I picking you up after the party?"

"No, I think I'm going to stay and hang with mom and James. You can pick me up on Monday, after school, that way I can head into work with you, help you work on a few cars and then stay with you and Uncle Marcus and Uncle Caius for the night."

"Oh good, I get a break from you," Aro joked around, leaning his head against the top of hers.

Rosalie smirked, and rolled her eyes, "Oh please, your life would be so boring without me. I keep you on your toes."

Aro dropped his arm from around her shoulders and began to fold the cuffs of his shirt, "When you come back over, you need to clean up your room."

"Dad," she begins to groan.

"I'll give you a chocolate bar."

"Am I five? Bribing me with candy isn't going to work." She laughs, and rolls her eyes once again at her father's attempt to bribe her.

"I'll give you a chocolate bar, and bring in donuts."

"Alright, that's so not fair." She remarks as his arm wraps around her shoulders again.

He begins leading her towards the front door, "Fine, I'll just eat the donuts in front of you."

"I'm saying this out of love and concern for your safety. If you eat a donut in front of me, you could possibly lose a hand daddy."

Aro shakes his head, chuckles and uses his free hand to open the door. He allowed her to walk through first, as he patted down his pockets in search of his keys, "I hardly got any sleep last night. I'm so tired."

"I'm sorry," She looked down feeling apologetic, "I was just too excited."

"Hey," he laughs, pulling her into a quick hug, "I'm not upset. I'm just worried that I'll doze off at work."

"If you fall asleep at work, just lift your head up and say amen. You'll be fine. It works all the time." His daughter was definitely his source of entertainment. She brought joy through laughter and just pure happiness any and everywhere she went.

"I hope you don't do that at school."

She laughs, "Of course not."

Early in the morning, he had dropped his brothers off that way he could use the car to drop Rose off later. He locked the apartment door behind him and followed his daughter down the two flights of stairs. The oldest Hale pulled his keys out of his pocket, "How are you and Emmett doing?"

"Dad, please! I can't talk to you about my love life. It's weird…this is weird."

He cracks a smile, "Nothing is weird about it. It's just a father wanting to stay informed about his daughter's life."

"Then ask me about school, cheerleading, or work, or living with my mom. Ask me about anything, but my boyfriend."

Aro opened the passenger door, "I just want to check in and make sure he's treating you good," he watched as his daughter slid into her seat, "I like Emmett, but I love you. I don't want to see you going through any pain; it would break my heart and tear me apart if I had to get involved."

"We've been dating for two years dad, we're doing perfectly fine." Rose took a hold of the door and closed it shut. She watched as her father jogged around to the driver's side, and opened his door, "I can see you're nervous." He slid into the vehicle.

She nods to back up his statement, "I just want this day to be perfect. I need for it to run smoothly."

"Between me and your mother, the odds were stacked against you in the temper department. Just remember to keep your cool," he reminded, buckling his seat belt.

"This coming from the guy that slammed his neighbor's fingers in the door after he refused to participate in my cheerleading fundraiser?" Rosalie chuckles enthusiastically as her father starts the car, "You have a short temper, but I don't care. I love you for it."

"I wish the whole town thought the way you did." Before pulling off, he grabs his daughter's head, and gently pulls it towards him in order to lay a kiss upon her forehead, "We're all not that lucky to be able to think and be non-judgmental the way you are. People want me to change, and you love me for who I am…flaws and all."

"Your thoughts and actions are what make you who you are. It's okay dad. People either love you for it or they hate you, but you shouldn't change who you are…well, unless its court ordered." Aro chuckled at his daughter's words.

Conversation was never tiring between father and daughter. Rose adjusted herself in the seat, as the seatbelt restricted her from being too comfortable. As her father slowly drove, she looked at him and smiled, "What?" he could see her smiling at him.

"Nothing." She smirked, and he shook his head in rebuttal. He wasn't accepting that answer.

"What are you over there thinking about?"

"I just can't wait to see the look on James' face. Everyone's going to be there, and I'm so happy. This day is going to be perfect dad," she clasped her hands together happily in her seat, "I'm claiming it. I'm going to make sure of it. Nothing can make this day go bad."

"I'm sure today will go as planned."

She closes her eyes, "Don't jinx it." Her fingers cross.

"What could ruin this day?"

"…if step-father and his asshole of a son decide to come."

"Hey," Aro quipped, smirking in his daughter's direction, "watch your language. I really don't want to have to get involved so please try to behave."

"I'll try; however I can't be sure it'll work."

"Why do you hate your stepfather?" Aro briefly stopped at a stop sign and turned to watch as his daughter shrugged her shoulders exasperatedly, "I'm okay with him. I don't hate him. It's his son that I hate. He's creepy…and irritating. Royce Jr. is such a perv and he's just…he's not fully there up north, if you follow what I'm saying. And dad, for someone who claims to hate me so much, he seems to always be around me. I don't like being in or near his presence."

"Wow, and the people of this town say I'm not nice."

"I don't claim to be nice daddy," She glanced out of the window as they turned onto her street, "I claim to be honest. If you don't want the truth, don't ask."

"Hey, I didn't mean to strike a nerve, it's alright, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she responded, unbuckling her seat belt, "a week ago mom forced Royce Jr. to move out after some dispute so I hardly ever have to see him now, but sometimes me and the stepfather argue, not as much as me and Royce Jr. used to, but we do. I always mean what I say; it's just sometimes I don't mean to say it out loud."

"Why do you two argue?"

"Sometimes I don't like the way he treats mom," Rosalie pushes a few strands of hair behind her ear, "She's lonely, and he's always at work. James is away, I have school and then I go to work with you. Royce Sr. doesn't care about anyone, but himself, his job and his reputation. Dad, he's the mayor of a town with 122 people in it, not including him and his son. What could he possibly be doing 24/7? He should never be that busy. I just feel sorry for mom. She hasn't had much luck in the romance department," she catches her father's eye, "and I'm not talking about you dad. All mom truly has is me and James. He's hardly ever home, and when he is, we argue, which causes mom to argue with him. I honestly don't know how her marriage lasted as long as it did."

Aro's fingers tapped along the steering wheel as he thought about his daughter's words. They've hardly ever truly talked about her opinion of her mom and her step-family because Rose never wanted to upset her father. She knows how Aro is, and she never wanted to say something that would accidentally set him off. He stared forward in his parked car, "Do you want your mom to rid herself of Royce Sr.?"

"I want my mom happy…just like I want you happy."

"And you figure if your mom won't leave Royce Sr., you'll be rude to him so he'll leave instead?"

"When you say it like that I sound horrible. I'm a bad person, aren't I?"

Aro turned to face his daughter, "Rose, I completely understand. The apple does not fall too far from the tree. I get you, and if you're looking for someone to tell you that you're wrong, you need to watch what you say or you're a bad person, then you're coming to the wrong person. Whatever you want to say to Royce Sr. you say it. We raised you to be truthful, and I want you to stick with that. You're a Hale, and as a Hale we have each other's backs and we don't back down. If he has a problem with something you said, tell him to come to me. Arguing is natural, especially between parents and teenage children." He set his hand upon his daughter's shoulder, "And yeah you may be a bit sassy and sarcastic, but I don't care. I love you for it. Isn't that what you said to me?"

In response, Rosalie leaned over the arm rest, and pecked her father's cheek, "Daddy, why are you so great?" She opened the passenger door.

"You know, I've been called a lot of things in my life, but great wasn't one of them."

"You're great dad…it's a fact. Deal with it." She stepped out of the car, and closed the door.

Aro rolled down the passenger window, and shouted, "Everyone in this town would agree that that's debatable."

"…not me." She whispered, before turning on her heel and walking up the driveway of her house.

As Rose begins walking up the driveway, the front door to her home is opened. Royce Jr. steps out, and sets his eyes upon his stepsister. His face cannot be controlled, as a smile stretches across his lips and his eyes bare deeply into her soul. She says nothing to him as she walks up the porch stairs and enters her house. Royce Jr. pulls his eyes away as the front door is slammed shut. He turns forward, and spots the burning eyes of Aro seeping into his soul. He shakes off the feeling as Aro pulls off. Royce Jr. takes a quick glance back at the house, before jogging up towards the waiting taxi, "Hey Eleazar, can you take me to the veterinarian hospital?"

"Sure Mr. King."

Rosalie watched through the window as Royce Jr.'s taxi pulled off. She shut the curtains and sighed in relaxation as the low air-conditioned temperature sent a shiver through her body. She took a glance at the clock and began a mental countdown of her brother's arrival. Rose kicked off her shoes, took a seat on the couch, propped up her feet, and pulled out her cell phone. She needed to be ready for when her mother came home, so they could make a quick run to the corner store.

* * *

Lillian pulled off her veterinarian jacket, and laid it over the back of her desk chair. She took a hard glance at her desk calendar and crossed off the last appointment of the day, "Done." She pulled out her cell phone, preparing herself to text Rose in order to inform her to be ready because she's about to leave from work. Before her finger could slide across her touch screen, her cell phone began ringing. She smiled softly at Aro's name light across the screen and within seconds she answered, "Hey," she set the phone between her shoulder and ear, as she unlocked her file cabinet in order to pull out her purse, "Is Rose with you or did you drop her off?"

"I dropped her off about," he glanced at his watch, "ten minutes ago. I'm on break."

Lillian laughed, "Didn't you just get to work?"

"I'm talking about from our daughter," he joked, kicking his feet up onto the stool positioned in front of his seat, "I'm just kidding, actually the cars haven't rolled in yet. They'll be here in half an hour."

The mayor's wife, set her purse down onto her desk, and pulled out her office chair. She adjusted the phone against her ear, "So, what do I owe this call? Has Rose done something that I need to know about?"

"No," he smiled softly, "actually it's not about her. It's…it's about us."

"Aro, please, don't start. I'm married."

"What?" Aro pulled his feet off of the stool and sat up straight, "I'm just saying, sometimes your knight in shining armor isn't so great. Sometimes he's just an idiot in tinfoil."

"Aro we wouldn't work," She logged off of her computer, "We clash. We argue. We just don't get along. We both have strong personalities and during our marriage, that just didn't work. Royce and I…we work. I'm more aggressive, he's more passive. We hardly argue."

"That's because you don't care! You don't care about him or what he does," Aro tried to convince. After receiving questionable looks from his brothers, he opened the front door and walked outside, "We may have argued a lot, but at least you know the passion was there. You like to argue, so do I. It works. We were married for almost nine years, before we divorced and that was only because I screwed up and went to prison. We work because we accept each other for all they are, flaws and all. That husband of yours has never seen the whole you, the real you Lillian. He doesn't know that there are layers to that soul of yours. I know you still love me."

"I love my husband."

Aro shook his head in amusement, "You love what he can do for you."

Lillian wrapped one arm around her waist, as she readjusted her cell against her ear once again, "Why won't you let this go?"

"I miss you! Is that so hard to understand?"

"Yes! Yes it is! I divorced you Aro! I didn't stick it out with you while you were in prison. Even if I did still love you, you're a good guy, and you deserve better."

"I deserve better?" Aro chuckled hard, before growing serious, "Look, I know I should stop thinking about you, but I don't know how." He spots the first customer pull up, "I loved you then, I love you now, and I always have and I always will. You gave me something that no one else has given me. You've given me a reason to live, a reason to go on and care about life."

"I'm sorry Aro. I don't have the time for this. I'm-" she pouted sadly.

"Busy?" Aro filled in for her, "It's not surprising. You're always busy, especially when it comes to your family. It's career, husband and then the rest of us."

"That's not fair!"

"You know what; I've been rejected by you enough. I'm done. I'm tired. I don't feel like it anymore." Aro heard his brothers call his name as more cars pulled up, "You say one thing, but your actions say another. I just want you to be able to taste the bullshit coming out of your mouth right now. And when you get tired of your little bank account hubby, sucks for you because I'm over this. I'll eventually get over you. I'm tired of putting my heart on the line only to get it rejected. You and Royce Sr. deserve each other!"

Lillian pressed her hand against her forehead, "Did I hurt your feelings?" her office door opened, and she looked to see her stepson, "Is that why you're acting out and getting angry? Come on and grow up! I don't get pissed off very easily because I will bite my tongue, bite my tongue and bite my tongue, but the moment I start drawing my own blood, you better start running. I enjoy our little arguments, but please don't get on that side of me. You already know that you won't like it. I will always love you because of my daughter, and I'm sorry I kissed you, but I am married…maybe if I wasn't, I don't know. When I confided in you last week, it wasn't because I wanted for us to get back together; it was because I wanted us to be friends again."

"Being your friend requires tolerating your husband, and that's just something I'm incapable of doing," he hung up.

"We need to talk."

She set her phone down slowly, "About what?" Her eyes never left the phone as he responded.

"You know about what," he began pacing around her, "I can't stop thinking about it. I like her."

At the realization of who he was referring to, she pulls her eyes away, "Oh no. No. We are not having this conversation! We already discussed it. You are to not see her."

"I ran into her when I was leaving your house."

"I warned you to stay away."

"I didn't expect to see her. I thought she was over her father's, but then she got dropped off," he begins rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I can't help my attraction."

"You need to fix it." She pressed her finger angrily against his chest, "That can't happen again."

"But Lillian-"

She interrupts, "If a situation ever occurs again in which you disregard the feelings of my daughter, there will be no talking. You will need 911, do you understand?"

"I like her."

Lillian was interrupted by the blaring of her ringtone. A part of her wanted for it to be Aro. While they argued most of the time, she did in fact enjoy it. They had a weird relationship. However, as she glanced down at the screen, she spotted her daughter's name lighting across it. She lifted the device, and held a finger up to Aro, "Be quiet for a second." She slid her finger across the screen, "Hi sweetie."

"I made a mental list of the things I need. We'll go to the store, come back and cook, and then everyone should start arriving. We have to get a start on it. I'm usually never late; everyone else is just way too on time." Rose takes a calming deep breath, "I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry, I understand shit happens, but I really want this day to be perfect. I want everyone to come and have a good time –minus the stepbrother- but hey, I'm asking for too much. Oh gosh, I'm still rambling. Mom, have you checked your texts?"

Lillian thought to herself, "No."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Rose, watch your mouth. Don't get smart. I am your mother, not your best friend." Lillian sighed, running her fingers through her hair, stressfully, "I didn't get a text alert."

"I thought I text you," Rose laughs, taking a quick glance at her cell as she leaned back on her bed, "apparently I didn't. I must have thought I did. Hmm, I don't know, anyway mom, where are you?"

She glances up at the clock on her wall, "Oh crap! I completely lost track of time!"

"We need to finish talking," Royce Jr. growled, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "We have to finish discussing Rose. I need to get some stuff off of my chest."

"Sweetie, I'm going to have to postpone. There's been a last minute emergency," She felt extremely bad for lying to her daughter, but she needed to hear Royce Jr. out, especially since it involved Rosalie, "I'll need an hour or so."

"It'll be too late then. Can't someone else do it?" Rosalie sat up from her bed, "James comes home today. Just picture the look on his face when he sees what we've done for him."

"I'm sorry Rose. I can't. I can try to be done in half an hour."

Rosalie shook her head, "That's okay. I'll figure something else out."

"I love you," Lillian whispered into the phone.

"I love you too mom." The phone call ended.

* * *

Rosalie swipes through her contacts in search of someone who could possible give her a lift. She didn't have her own car, and despite multiple attempts to convince her parents that she needed one, it never worked. A text from her mother apologizing once again for cancelling lit against her cellphone screen, and after exiting it out, she decided to give her boyfriend a call.

"Hello," he answered out of breath, taking an exhausting seat on the bleacher.

Rose stood up, and walked over to her window, "Em, it's going to be a full moon tonight."

"And?" He laughed, opening up his Gatorade.

"I don't know," She shrugs, zoning out at the view outside of her window, "sometimes I just want to lay down in the street, look up at the sky and forget about everything, but you know, due to the fear of being run over by a car, I won't." Rosalie could hear his laugh and it broke her out of her reverie, "I want to forget about all this bullshit."

"What's wrong? I thought you were excited for your brother's return." He heard his coach call him over, but he held up his pointer finger in order to buy himself sometime, "Did something happen?"

"No. And I am happy. I'm so happy, but I have no way of getting there. My mother cancelled on me. That's why I'm calling you."

Emmett glanced back at the field, "I'm at practice."

"So that's a no?"

"Yeah, sorry. I don't even have the car."

Rose couldn't be mad at him. She took a glance at the clock and grew even more worried as the minutes ticked on by. She had to come up with another option, "I know you can't take me to the store, but you'll be here tonight, right?"

"Everything will be fine. Breathe. Relax. And I know how much it means to you. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Thanks babe," she took a large breath.

"I got to go; the coach is calling me over. I love you." Before she could respond, the call ended.

Rosalie dialed Alice and placed the call on speaker. She set her phone down as she started getting herself ready. She didn't want to have to come back and get dressed. It was just easier to dress, go to the store and then come back and do everything else. Rose stripped herself out of her clothes, and stood in her bra and underwear when Alice answered, "Yo Rose! You wouldn't guess what Elizabeth is doing."

"Oh gosh, what?" Rose grabbed her cut-off shorts and pulled them up her long legs.

"Bella, I'm about to tell her. Hold on a second." Rose could hear Bella in the background of her phone call with Alice, "Elizabeth's spreading rumors again."

"Rumors are funny to me."

"They are?" Alice was confused by this response.

"Yeah, I learn so much stuff about myself that I've never known. What did she say this time?"

Alice knew rumors never bothered Rose. Living in a small town, rumors were a way of nature, and everyone knew Elizabeth held no credibility. "Apparently, I'm a nobody. She called you a slut and-"

"I don't get it." Rose pulled a shirt out of her dresser, "She's such a hypocrite."

"Yeah." Alice took a bite of her ice cream.

Rose pulled her shirt over her head, "She's been on more wieners than ketchup…but she wants to talk about me."

"Take your mind out of the gutter." Alice chuckles.

"Alice, if it weren't for this gutter, my mind would be lonely."

Rosalie searches through her row of shoes in search for the perfect pair to match her outfit. She picked a pair of flats up, "Alice, I didn't call to talk about Elizabeth. I called to ask for a favor."

"I need a ride to the store."

"I would, but I can't." Alice admitted, finishing up the remainder of her ice cream, "I'm at the ice cream parlor with Bella. We are almost done with our ice cream, but my mom only allowed me to borrow the car because I'm picking her up from work afterwards. I promise I'll come by and help you set up though," she felt Bella nudge her arm; "Bella will come too. I'm sorry Rose." Rosalie doesn't respond. She simply nods her head before hanging up.

The seventeen year old was growing desperate. She would never get another chance like this. After adjusting her feet in her flats, she dialed Edward. It went straight to voicemail. She tried again, and it once again went straight to voicemail. She scrolls upwards and decides to give Jasper a call. After ringing twice, it's sent to voicemail. Rosalie shoves her cell phone into her pocket, and grabs her credit card and id out of her purse. She slams her bedroom door closed behind her and rushes out of her house, "Hi Brady!" She waves at the commissioner as he hops into his car, "Is Jasper home?"

"Yeah, he should be in his room." He starts the engine and pulls off.

Rose opens the screen door, and walks into the house, "Jasper!" She shouts, walking quickly down the hallway, "Jasper!" She pushes open his room, and spots him lying in his bed, "Hey, Jas, wake up." She leaned across his bed and shook him gently.

"What do you want?" He groans, refusing to open up his eyes.

"I need a favor," she sits, "I need a huge favor, and you're the only one who can help me. Please. I have no other options," he refuses to sit up, and he simply pulls the covers over his head, "My mom cancelled on me. My dad is at work. I called Emmett and he's at practice. Alice, Bella and Edward are busy. You're the only other person I can think of to give me a lift to Laurent's store."

"James will understand. It's the thought that counts."

"Forget about the thought! I want to do this for him! He's my brother! He's been gone for so long and he's finally back!" She pulls the covers off of him.

He grips the covers and pulls them back, "Quit playing! I'm taking a nap. If you want me to come to this stupid party, then you'll let me get an hour in."

"No one cares!" She stood up and walked over to his opened window, "No one cares that he's coming home! He's being selfless for years and he's never gotten anything for it! The moment I want to do something for him, there's a problem! People cancel! People have plans! Edward didn't even answer his freaking phone! I'm sick of this! I continually get amazed that some people are just not willing to go out on a limb just once for anyone else unless it benefits them in some way!"

"Rose," Jasper sat up, "I'm sorry, but I'm really exhausted. It's probably not even safe for me to drive when I'm this tired."

"I'll get there," Rose storms out of Jasper's room, "even if I have to walk." She slams his front door behind her. Gathering herself emotionally and physically, she begins walking in the direction of Laurent's store. It was supposed to storm tonight, so hopefully it didn't start until the party is over.

* * *

Royce Sr. walked into the veterinary's office, and waved at the receptionist as he walked passed her desk. As mayor, he usually works all hours of the day, and he knew that his wife probably missed him, hence the reason why he felt she was spending all of her time with his son. Royce Sr. spotted his wife's office door, cracked open, "I'm serious." He overheard his son's voice, "I can't help my feelings, just like you can't help yours."

"It was a mistake," his wife muttered, as Royce Sr. slowly approached the door, "I wish we both can take back what we did, but we can't. I've come to terms with you, you need to too."

"I keep thinking about-"

"No," Lillian shook her head, "that will never happen again. You better make sure of it because I know I will."

"We have to say something," the mayor could hear the guilt in his son's voice, "I know it was a mistake, but you have to tell my dad. I know you didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. We both did something that we regret, and you should come clean, and so should I."

As Royce Sr. continued to listen to the words of his wife and son, he grew angrier and angrier. His heart rate increased, his fingers gripped the flowers in his hand, and when the office door closed and locked, he shoved the flowers into the trash. His face was dark red, and his palms were sweating. He couldn't stay…if he did; he may have done something that he would regret. While he knew he should have left, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted…needed to hear how the conversation played out, especially since his son seemed to have felt guilty, while his wife felt no remorse at all.

* * *

Laurent silently flipped through his uninteresting magazine until the sound of a bell rung above the doorway to his store. He happily closed the booklet, and looked up to see who arrived, "Hey Rosalie." He stood up.

"Hi Laurent," she waved, her voice sounding a little out of breath from the two to three mile walk. She grabbed a shopping basket and got right down to it.

Her lips tugged into a smile as she placed the first item from her mental list into the basket. She calculated the cost mentally as she continued to place things into her shopping basket. The inside of the store was too quiet, and as a result, Rosalie began humming lowly to herself as she searched for the remainder of the items on her list.

Laurent waited patiently as she shopped. He reopened his boring magazine and resumed flipping through the pages, "Do you have this in blue?" He looked up from his catalog, "It's my brother's favorite color." Without closing the magazine, he left it on the counter and walked around, "I'll go check the back."

"Thanks." Immediately, her cell phone started to ring.

She pulled the phone out of her pocket, and sighed at the name of her best friend's mom flashing across the screen. Rose wasn't up for arguing, and ever since she caught Renee reverting back to her old ways, it seems that's all they did. She set the basket down, "What do you want?"

"I want you to promise me that'll you stay quiet…about you know."

"I can't promise you that," Rose shook her head as the conversation from the surveillance tape shown months from the day played out.

As she wrapped up her last sentence, she hung up. She glanced down at the screen, and dialed Charlie. The phone was placed against her ear as she waited for him to answer. It went straight to voicemail. "Hey, call me back. It's really important. I need to tell you something." She hung up and stuffed her cell back into her pocket.

Laurent came out of his back office, "You're in luck Rose. This is the last one in blue."

"Oh thank you, you're the best!" She places the decoration into her basket, "I'm ready to check out."

As he rung up her items, he decided to speak, "So what's the occasion?"

"James is coming home today."

"Welcome him home for me."

"Will do," she hands him her credit card, "If you want, you can come slide by the party, it's in," her eyes fall upon the clock on the wall, "Oh no, it's in an hour! I really need to go!" After he swiped her card, she took a hold of it and shoved it into her pocket. Sliding her arm through each handle of the bag, she backed away from the cash register, "See you later Laurent." Rose turned on her heel and raced out of the store.

Rosalie ignored the aching in her arms from the many bags currently wrapped around them. She didn't have time to adjust them because she needed to get home. Her feet were growing tired as the uncomfortable flats allowed for her feet to feel everything she stepped on. As she begins walking on the main road, she hears a honk, "Asshole," Rose mutters to herself as she watches Jacob wave as he drove past her, "Since he's coming to the party later, he could have least offered me a ride."

* * *

Royce Sr. was growing antsy as his foot tapped angrily. He needed to leave. He backed away from his wife's office and stormed out of the building. He was happy the receptionist wasn't at her desk. He couldn't speak because he was so pissed. He would have yelled, shouted and probably ripped someone's head off. Of all the people for Lillian to have an affair with, she chose his son? Were there no boundaries?

The mayor unlocked his son's car. Did his son figure that since his father was borrowing his car then he can borrow his father's wife? Royce Sr. sat in the passenger seat and began screaming to himself. He has given Lillian everything she has ever wanted. He begins hitting his fists against the steering wheel, "That bitch!" He was breathing roughly. She had some nerve! Both of them did! Royce Sr. needed to go someplace to take a breath and figure things out. He would never leave his wife. He needed her just as much as she needed him. The mayor just had to figure out a way to show her what's right and what is wrong. There are just some things and people that should be off limits, and his son was one of them.

Royce Sr. started the car, and backed out of the parking lot. He had to get home. His breathing remained rugged as he struggled to clear his mind. He tried to think about something else, but all he could think about was Lillian and his son…together. He can't help but picture his son's hands on her body and her mouth on his lips. His imagination was torturing him, and when he glanced up at his mirror, he could see his bloodshot eyes. Royce Sr.'s face was burnt red as his foot pressed down upon the gas pedal, "That lying, cheating bitch!" He rolls down the window and feels the breeze blow through his short hair, "How could she?" he begins rocking back and forth in his seat when he spots the back of a familiar head.

The mayor immediately recognizes his stepdaughter attempting to walk home with multiple bags on her arms. It was a struggle for her to hold the many bags while walking home in this humid weather. While he was mad at her mother, he wasn't mad at her. He slowed the car to a stop beside her, "Need a lift?"

She stops, "Shouldn't you be working?"

"I thought your mom was supposed to take you."

"She cancelled on me."

"I know," Royce Sr. lied as he leaned low to pop the trunk, "She sent me to come pick you up." In the side mirror, he observed her long and slender legs. If Lillian wanted to look at his son, it was only right that he looked at her daughter.

Rosalie genuinely smiles as she rushes over to the opened trunk. She sits the bags down inside neatly before slamming the trunk closed. Her physically exhausted body rushes to the passenger seat and hops in, "I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but I really appreciate this. James will be home soon, and I still had a ways to walk. Thank you."

"No problem," he starts driving, "That's what family is for."

"I really am grateful for this Royce. I owe you one."

"You owe me one," he takes a quick glance towards her. He surveys her momentarily before averting his eyes back onto the road. She reminded him so much of her mother, from her hair to her physique. Rosalie was slowly growing into a beautiful young woman.

"Yeah," she chuckles softly, "It just means since you did me a favor, I owe you one." She sits back in the seat and her peripheral stares at her stepfather, "Hey, are you alright? You look…is there something wrong?"

"Is there something wrong?" he repeats her last question as his fingers drum against the steering wheel, "Yeah, yeah there's something wrong, and that something you ask, your mother. Your goddamn mother is what's wrong!"

"Sorry for asking," she turned to face the window, but his quick hold on her arm turned her back to face him. He releases her arm in fear, "I didn't mean to do that," he felt an internal struggle. She reminded him so much of Lillian, and being her daughter, reminded him of what his son and her mother were currently up to in her office.

"Your mother is a filthy slut."

"Don't talk about my mother," She warned.

"I just call it like I see it. She's a slut!"

"I said don't talk about my mother!" Her voice hollered, as she reached for the door handle. The moment her fingers brushed across the door, she heard it lock, "Unlock the door. Pull over and let me out. NOW!"

He shook his head, and spitefully replied, "You are just like your mother."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Royce Sr. says nothing as he begins driving faster. His foot continually lowering down upon the gas pedal, and within minutes Rosalie notices that they aren't driving in the right direction. Her hands grab the handle of the door, "This isn't the way home," the car slows down, "Where are we going?"

"I have to do something really quick."

Her shoulders tense up, "I'm really pressed for time." The car pulls into an abandoned campsite opening, "I can just walk from here." She reaches for the door handle, and he leans over to smack her hand away.

Rose stared forward, nervous to move, as her eyes register the sight around her. It was a small clearing in the woods. Surrounded by nothing but trees, she felt her heart rate increase, "I really need to go home. Guests will be arriving soon."

"Your mother made vows to me at our wedding."

"I'm not the person you should be talking about this with," Rose slowly digs into her pocket for her cell, "My mom will be at the party…maybe you should talk about this with her."

"Shut up." He leans over and rips her cell phone out of her hold, "I was the perfect husband. I gave her space. I bought her any and everything she has ever wanted. I never argued with her. I was the PERFECT husband, so why am I not enough? I don't compare to your father and apparently I don't compare to my son."

"What does Royce Jr. have to do with-"

"I DID NOT say speak!"

She quickly stops talking. The stepfather she has known for years was foreign to her right now. This wasn't the man who married her mother. This wasn't the man she's been living with for the last five years. She usually didn't fear people, but she definitely feared this side of him.

"I have to teach your mom a lesson."

Rose turned to look at him, "You leave my mother alone." Her protective daughterly instincts kicked in at the sound of a threat, "You don't touch her or say anything to her. You leave her alone. I'm serious. Don't lay a finger on her, or-"

"Or what?" He turns to face her, "Are you going to run and tell your daddy?" He pouts in mockery.

She quickly opens the door, "You don't want to find out." Rose steps out of the car, leaves the bags in the trunk and begins walking into the direction the car pulled in at.

Royce Sr. jumps out of the car, and rushes up to his stepdaughter. His hands in the air, and sympathy took over his face, "I'm sorry," he stands in front of her and slowly lowers his hands, "I won't touch your mother. If I teach her a lesson, it won't be by me touching her. I'm sorry for having you think I'm going to put my hands on her."

"It's okay, just stay calm," she crossed her arms, "You're really sending out bad vibes right now, and I just really want to get home. I'll walk and you just drive the bags over."

"Rose, I'm sorry."

"I know," she nods.

"No, I'm so sorry."

"You already said that. I know you're sorry. It's okay…let's move on."

He takes a hold of her shoulders, "I can't though. I need for you to understand what I am about to do…"

"What are you about to do?" ***Warning for below.**

The two make eye contact, and before Rosalie could respond again, he pounces forward and grips his hands around her throat. She lands on her back, with him hovering above her. He sits upon her stomach, and tightens his firm hold around her neckline. His tight grip around her neck widens her eyes as she struggles to gasp for breath. Her hands fly out and begin to claw at his hands and arms. She tries to pry his fingers from around her neck, but he simply just tightens his grasp. Royce Sr. releases her neck, and takes a hold of her shoulders. She's coughing and gasping loudly for breath. He lifts her up into a seating position and slams her back down into the ground. Seconds following, his fists close and begin making sharp connections with her face. Aches vibrated throughout her body as her eyes scanned her surroundings; "Don't-" she can barely get out the word as his fist makes contact with her jaw.

Rosalie has to fight back. Her weak eyes scan the anger in her stepfather's eyes as she is forced to take the beating. She pulls her eyes away as he pauses briefly in order to scream out in rage. She used the opportunity to lift her leg and knee him in the groin. For a brief second, there was an opening and she took advantage of it. She rolled from underneath him. He gripped his manhood and rolled over to the side, "Stupid bitch. Come back here!"

The seventeen year old could barely stand onto her weak legs. She screamed out for help, as she struggled to crawl away, "Somebody help me!" Her jaw ached in pain. Her face was covered in bruises and blood as dirt from the ground embedded itself into the materials of her clothing. Rose was nowhere near the main road. She crawled to the nearest tree, and used its support to pull herself onto her feet, however once she gained a good balance; she felt arms surround her waist, "You thought I was going to give up that easily," he lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder, "I'm not done with you yet." She hit and kicked as wildly as her body allowed, "We have a few more things we need to do together." Royce Sr. slammed her body against the car.

Small groans of pain erupted from within her as she tried to reach out for something on him to grab, scratch and/or bite. His eyes saw red as he watched blood drip from her lip. After the fifth time he slammed her back into the car, he threw her to the dirt ground, "Stop." She cried out, struggling to crawl away. Royce Sr. ignored her words, and tossed open the backseat of his son's car, "Lillian has to learn."

Rosalie could feel the bruises immediately forming on her back. Blood fell from her mouth and embedded itself into the collar around her shirt. Her limbs allowed for her to crawl slowly away, but his approaching footsteps caused for panic to set in. He caught up to her, and kicked her in the side. The sound of a grunt pleased him, and he used the following seconds to roll her over onto her back, "The quicker you let me start, the sooner it'll be over." He picked her up, and threw her into the backseat of the car. Rose couldn't give up. She took a quick glance back; saw his hands fidgeting with the buckle of his belt, and immediately his intentions registered in her head. His body blocked the back door, and out of fear, she mustered up the remaining strength she had and started crawling across the seats.

Her hand reached out for the door, and once she pushed it open, his hands gripped her ankles. She coughs up blood onto the leather seats as her nails dug into the fabric. Royce Sr. released an animalistic growl, as he pulled her legs back, "You're not going anywhere. This is only fair." Her nails bring up material from the seat as he continues to pull her towards him, "Please stop! Please!" She cries out, as blood continued to pour from her opened mouth, "Stop! No! No!" In order to silence her wails, Royce Sr. took his fists and immediately connected them with the side of her head. He gripped her hair, pulled her upwards and slammed it back down. The mayor's nails dug into the side of her face, as he forced eye contact, "Don't pass out on me now." He slaps his hand repeatedly against her face, but it was a fruitless effort because within sounds, she saws spots of blackness, and after reaching out once more, her eyes fluttered to a close.

A few minutes pass when she regains consciousness. She opens her eyes, and finds herself in the backseat of her stepbrother's car. Her eyes are crying, and she feels a hand pressed roughly against her mouth. She's dazed and confused. Rose tries to register what is happening to her. She sees him above her, staring into her opened eyes, his hand pressed against her mouth as he peppered kisses around her bloody and bruised face. She feels her body shifting repeatedly against the leather seats. Her eyes grow wide as she notices his naked form, and immediately it all registers. Rose lifts her hands and begins pulling at his hair. It wasn't working. She claws at his arms, and begins to draw skin. All he did in return was push his hand down harder over her mouth. Her screams are muffled as he pushes down harder and firmer.

Rosalie opens her mouth and bites down hard upon his hand. He lets out a scream as he pulls his hand from her mouth. She's crying loudly, "GET OFF OF ME!" Her body is heaving as sobs choked her words, "Stop! Stop! Get off of me!"

"We're not done yet," he quickens his pace.

She begins wriggling her legs, "Stop! Stop! No! Why are you doing this?!" Her hands try to push him away, and out of anger, he closes his fists and begins to punch at her body, "I SAID WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" His eyes remained closed as he punched and punched. He didn't care where his fists landed as long as they made contact. Rose fights to stay conscious, but her body gives up. She loses the battle and her eyes slowly drift close. And even though she was unconscious, he couldn't bring himself to stop punching her. He saw red. He saw Lillian. He saw his son. He saw everything he didn't want to see, and because of that, his fists continually made contact with her already bruised and unconscious body.

Within minutes, she begins to wake up. Her entire body, from head to toe was in pain. Rosalie tried to sit up, but the state her body was in wouldn't allow it. Her shirt was torn open, revealing her black bra and a laceration running down her stomach. Her fingers brushed against the slash, and her senses picked up on the blood dripping from it, "Uh," she groaned in pain, wiping her fingers against her torn t-shirt. From her waist down, she was numb. She used the seat to prop herself up, and when her eyes fell upon her ripped shorts and blood stained legs, she fell back. Her hands covered her face as she released a silent cry. She needed to get away. She needed the police and she needs a hospital. Whatever pain Rosalie was in, she pushed to the back of her mind, as she crawled towards the opened door.

"I couldn't control myself," she could hear her stepfather whisper. He was still here. She peeked over the window and saw him pacing back and forth, "I just snapped. I saw Rose walking and I kept picturing Lillian. I tried to ignore the urge to attack her, but the more she spoke and the more I looked at her, the more I thought of her mother. I didn't mean to do it. That's why I need your help."

In the condition Rose was in, she knew she wouldn't be able to make a run for it. There was no way her body would allow her to get away without toppling over. Rose pat her pockets in search of her cell phone, but the only contents she had was her credit card. Her movements slowed to a stop as Royce Sr. continued to talk, "She's practically dead Brady." He ran his hand over his face, "All you need to do is dump her body. I can't…because in a few minutes I'm supposed to pick up my son from work. I have his car and I can't be late…just dispose of her. Thank you! I'm at the old campgrounds, about ten minutes from my house." He hangs up.

Rosalie's body tensed up as she heard the mayor approach the opened car door. He looked down at her closed eyes, and when he leaned in to pick her up, she opened her eyes, lifted her hands and shoved her fingers into his orbs, "Ahh!" He screamed, taking a step back and rubbing his eyes, "You stupid bitch!" Despite the pain she was in, she jumped out of the car. Before she could attempt to get away, he outstretched his hand, grabbed the back of her head and slammed her forehead against the trunk of the car twice. The mayor kicks her legs from under her, and smiles down at her wounded body, "You're still alive? We're not done yet," he begins unbuckling his pants once more. He hovers above her body, his face a few inches from hers.

"My dad is going to kill you!" She spits blood into his face.

He doesn't wipe it away. He simply stares into the eyes of Rosalie, and says nothing. Her eyes were the eyes of his wife. They were the exact replica of Lillian King, and instead of hitting her, he casually leans forward and presses a kiss to her lips, "You won't get a chance to tell him what I did." She tries to push him away as he proceeds to violently take advantage of her. His hands cusped her breasts, his teeth bit her lips and his body jerked hers along with his. She screamed into the afternoon sky as she watched the clouds above her drop drizzles of rain onto her injured body. He laughed as he quickened his pace, "No one can hear you," he ran his fingers along the side of her face, "You can scream as loud and as long as you want to."

Her screams ceased. Her squirms and groans of pain stopped. At this moment, it was nothing she could. Her body went limp as she waited for him to finish, and once he did, he stood up, buckled his jeans and spit down at her body, "Don't even think about running."

Burning tear drops ran down her face, as the drizzling rain drenched the dirt ground. Her back soaked into mud, "My dad will find out."

"Who's going to tell him?"

Rose pushed herself up into a seating position, "I will." She tried to pull herself onto her feet, but he kicked her back down, "You're a coward. Why kick a girl while she's already down?" She tried to get up again and he once again kicked her back to the ground, "You did all of this, and I have no idea why!"

"It's a lesson for your mother," He grabbed her arms, and pulled her up to her feet, "We'll get through this. You wouldn't understand. She hurt me, and I have to show her how it felt. You're not involved in this."

"I wasn't involved until you attacked me!" She screamed into his face, "I don't know what my mother did, but you deserved it. She'll never forgive you for this, and when my dad finds out-"

He cuts her off, "Don't piss me off or you'll end up in the trunk."

"When my dad finds out, he's going to kill you slowly," she felt his hands grip her blonde locks, but she refused to back down, "and the only thing that I'll regret is the fact that I won't be able to watch you suffer," once the last word left her lip, he used his irate force to slam her face into the trunk of her car once…twice, a third, a fourth, the fifth knocked her out, but he continued. He saw a gash going across her forehead seeping blood into her blonde hair, however he continued, until a final twenty-fourth time. Royce Sr. turned her by her hair to face him, and once he registered the unrecognizable teen, he popped the trunk with his free hand, lifted her up and threw her into it.

Minutes passed and Royce Sr. smiled at the sight of his closest friend pulling up into the abandoned campground. The mayor popped the trunk, waved Brady over, and pointed inside, "Is she dead?"

"Close enough," Royce Sr. shrugged his shoulders, "What do we do?"

"Jesus Royce," Brady brushed hair away from the seventeen year's old face in order to inspect the damage, "If you didn't tell me this was Rose, I wouldn't have known who it was. Did you have to go all ape on her?"

"What do we do?" The mayor repeated his earlier question, "I have to pick my son up, and then we're supposed to head home for the party Rose is planning for James' return."

Brady squints in confusion, "Rose is here. She didn't get a chance to set up the party."

"We don't know that. We assume she's safe. Why would we think otherwise?"

"You're lucky you're my best friend," Brady slowly backed away from the trunk. He raced over to his vehicle, popped the trunk and pulled out a pair of boots. In a matter of seconds, he changed from his work shoes to the boots, "Wrap her in this," he reaches into his trunk and pulls out a blanket, "I don't want any blood to get in my trunk. After you wrap her, put her in my trunk." Royce Sr. roughly lifted her, and wrapped the blanket around her. He carried her to the cruiser and stuffed her inside, "Now what?" he slammed the trunk close.

"Work on getting an alibi. I have one already set up." Brady raced to the driver's side of his vehicle, "Clean yourself up. Figure out a way to explain your bruised hands…destroy your office or something. I don't know, come up with something." The commissioner hopped into his vehicle, "Those bags in your trunk, do they belong to Rose?" Royce Sr. nods, "Shit. Okay, that means she made it to the store. If she is found, we need to throw off suspicion. Get rid of the bags Royce. After you do that, go to Laurent, he's been having financial troubles, use that to bribe him. If push comes to shove, mention his criminal record, I wouldn't be against adding a few unclosed charges. Convince him to say that Rose never made it to the store. We need to throw off the time table."

Royce Sr. glanced down at the blood stain in the trunk, "I'll get on that. Thanks Brady."

"Hey," Brady leaned his head out of the window, "This can't happen again!"

"It won't!"

"I won't protect you next time."

The commissioner pulled onto the main road. His car drove pass two automobiles in the few minutes it took him to get to his destination. He parked along the side of the road. Hardly anyone ever took this route, only campers, but since it was supposed to be a big storm tonight, he doubted anyone would be camping. Brady took a deep breath before jumping out of his car, "Okay," he popped his trunk open, and stared down at the barely conscious girl, "Rose-"

"Help…me," her voice was extremely low and if he didn't listen, he wouldn't have heard her plea, "Thank you," she smiled, softly.

"I'm sorry. It's too late for you," He leaned in, and picked her up. Her body was limp and he held all of her weight.

Rosalie's eyes drifting between open and close. She tried to remain awake, but it was hard. During the moments her eyes were alert, she took in her front view. She recognized the location, and it wasn't good. Rose jumped in Brady's arms at the sound of him slamming his trunk closed, "This'll be quick, okay."

"No," she groaned, fidgeting in his hold "Let me go! Please!" A burst of adrenaline erupted within her at the realization of what he was implying, "I won't say anything! I promise! I didn't see you! This didn't happen! Nothing happened!" Her fists beat against his body as she broke out of his arms.

Out of panic, Brady clenched his fist, and punched her straight in the face. Her already bloodied face was stricken by the muscled knuckles on his boxing hands, and before she could dodge it, his fist struck her again. Her body made instant connection with the ground, as her head hit against the pavement of the road echoing a loud crunch. Brady looks over his shoulders, and when he saw no one present, he lowered himself to the ground, gripped the side of her head and repeatedly slammed the back of her skull against the street. As the speed of rain began to fall harder, he stood up, "No one will know," he lifted her legs, and began pulling her off into the forest, glancing back as the rain washed away the blood that was once pressed into the cement.

* * *

Royce Sr. spent the hour gathering himself. He needed to adjust his appearance before he went further into town. The mayor sat in the driver's seat and looked at his mirrored reflection, "I look tired," he ruffled up his hair. He wiped at the small, barely visible cut on his lip, before buckling the seat belt. He heard an unfamiliar ring and after glancing down into the passenger seat, he sees her phone, "Shit." He lifts it up and sees her mother calling her cell, "Sorry Lillian," he rolled down the window and threw the cell out of it.

The mayor started the car, backed out of the campsite, sped through the small town and managed to arrive at Laurent's store within minutes. He needed to pick his son up in ten minutes. Royce Sr. honked the car horn and jumped out, "Laurent," he rushed into the store. He ran up and down each aisle to ensure himself no one else and once he was sure, he grabbed the store clerk by the wrist and pulled him out of the view of the surveillance camera, "We need to talk."

"What did I do?"

"Your grandmother, how sick is she?"

"She's pretty bad," Laurent scrunched his face in confusion, "What's this about?"

"How much is her medical cost?"

"Too much to ask for from you," the store clerk began to walk back to the front of his store, but Royce Sr.'s words pulled him to a stop, "Name a price and I'll cover it…all of it."

"Why?" Laurent turned on his heel, "There has to be a catch?"

"All I need for you to say is that Rosalie never made it to your store if someone comes asking."

The store clerk eyed the mayor suspiciously, "Why? What is this about?"

"Don't ask questions," the mayor approached him, "just give me your word."

Laurent took a glance at his desk and eyed the stack of medical bills. He bit upon his lip as he weighed his options, "I don't know. I'm not sure about this. Why lie about it? She was here…where is she now?"

"She's missing."

"What?" Laurent took a seat in his desk chair.

"I know about your criminal record, and I'm pretty sure that you may have had something to do with it. Just accept the money, and let's end this conversation right now."

"Okay," the young man nodded in fear, "I'll accept. And if anyone comes asking, I'll say she never made it. Just keep my record between us. This town doesn't need to find out about it."

Royce Sr. nodded in relief, and the sound of his ringtone blaring through the store, pulled him back into focus. He answered and pressed his cell against his ear, "Hello?"

"Royce!" He heard his wife scream in tears, struggling to hold back sobs.

His eyes immediately glance towards the clock hanging up in Laurent's office. It's been over an hour since Brady left. He waved for Laurent to leave him alone, "What's wrong?"

"It's Rose."

Royce Sr.'s eyes grew wide at the sound of his stepdaughter's name, "What happened?"

"I don't know! Kate just called me! They found her floating in a lake! I'm on my way to the hospital. Can you meet me there?!"

"Of course," he nodded.

The mayor hung up the phone, shoved it into his pocket, and raced out of the office, "Come here Laurent!" the store clerk followed behind the older King.

Royce Sr. popped the trunk, pulled out the multiple bags and set them along the sidewalk, "Get rid of them."

"What?" Laurent looked down at them, "Wait, those are Rose's bags? I recognize this," he pulled out the blue decoration she asked for earlier, "What did you do?"

"You don't want to know," he smirked, racing over to the driver's side, "You're already an assessor to it, so how about we keep this between us? Get rid of them. I have to go pick up my son."

**-Tiffany.**


	20. The Small Town I Live In

_Brady's eyes were in wide, shock as he stared down at the deceased body of his best friend. His hands fumbled against the handcuffs strapped to his belt, "Dad, what are you doing?" Jasper approached his father._

"_Emmett killed someone!" Brady shouted, opening his cuffs, "I'm arresting him!"_

_Aro held his wrists together, "If you arrest him, you'll have to arrest me too."  
_"_He killed a man!"_

"_Now you want to do your job?" Rosalie pulled herself out of her mother's arms. She approached the commissioner, and stood eye to eye with him, "You had plenty of opportunities to do your job."_

"_You did nothing wrong Rosalie," he assured, stepping around her, "I am not arresting you. I give you my word."_

"_It's pathetic how you think your word means something to me. And I don't give a shit if you arrest me or not, but you can't arrest Emmett!"_

"_And why not?"_

_Jasper reached forward and gripped his father's arm, "Dad, if you arrest Emmett, you'll have to arrest me too. I held Royce Sr. down." He put his wrists together and held them out, "So go ahead…arrest me."_

_The commissioner thought to himself. He glanced over Jasper's shoulder and spotted Emmett. He couldn't bring himself to arrest his own son, but at the same time, he couldn't allow for Emmett to get away with cold, blooded murder. Brady shoved his son to the side, "Emmett Cullen, you have the right to remain-"_

"_You can't arrest him," Rose pleaded, racing to her boyfriend._

"_They killed the mayor!"_

"_No they didn't!" Rosalie affirmed, arms wrapped around Emmett's shoulders and her face buried into the crook of his neck. She refused to let go. Brady would have to pry her from around him. She wasn't going down without a fight. _

_Brady tried to pull her back, "Don't play that game."_

"_Rose is right!" Lillian stepped forward, backing up her daughter's statement._

"_What game is this are you all playing?" Brady folded his arms, and took a step back, "Let's see, if they didn't kill the mayor, who did?"  
_"_He killed himself! The grief of what he did to my daughter was too much!"_

_Brady argued Lillian's lies, "He was murdered!"_

"_You're right," Rose turned, and made eye contact with her mother._

"_But, he was murdered by you," Lillian finished her daughter's thoughts, "you shot the glass to make it easier to push him out of the window. I saw you! Aro?" she looked at her ex-husband._

_Aro nodded his head, "I saw it too!"_

_Brady shoved the handcuffs into his pocket. He had an empty gun strapped to its holster, and bullet casings spread throughout the mayor's office and the outside parking lot. The commissioner took a look around at everyone, and they were all for backing up Lillian's story…everyone except for Royce Jr. Brady smirked and approached the mayor's son, "He knows the truth."_

"_How many people will believe him when I say what his father did to me?" Rose gently pulled herself from her boyfriend's arms, "Or what about when I say what he did to me?" She smiled harshly at the twenty-six year old, "I know what you did to me Royce."_

"_You told her?!" Royce Jr. glared at Lillian._

"_I was wrong not to tell her. I should have told her in the beginning. She had a right to know."_

_Rosalie began walking to Royce Jr., "Your dad deserved what he got." She watched him as he shut his eyes closed and shook his head, "He hurt me Royce. Justice had to be served. I just need your word that you won't say anything. Please, I just need you to do this one thing for me." The mayor's son looked into her innocent eyes, and every part of him urged him to agree. He could never deny the look on her face. He's known that look for years, and it never grew old. How could he deny those eyes? How could he deny her?_

"_Remain quiet," Aro interjected himself into the conversation, "and leave town. Don't ever come back here. If you agree to those terms, you'll be perfectly fine. You have my word."_

"_And if I don't?" he was afraid of the answer._

"…_then me and you have a problem."_

_Brady stepped between Aro and Royce Jr., "You're threatening him in front of me?" he pointed over Aro's shoulder at Emmett, "I don't care what anyone says! I'm taking him in."_

"…_then you're taking me in too." Jasper stepped in front of his best friend._

_Rose stepped in front of Jasper, "and me."_

"_Don't forget me," Alice stood beside her boyfriend._

"_Me too," Lillian took a hold of her daughter's hand._

_Aro stood in front of the line of people, "And me." The eldest Hale smiled at the angered look on Brady's face, "and you know, whether people believe us or not, they'll be curious. Why would Emmett just kill the mayor? Why would I push him out of a window? Why would Lillian stand by my side? Why would Rose be involved? Why would your own son turn against you? I'm sure everyone in this town will love to find out what we have to say about it."_

"Rose…" she blinked out of her reverie, and focused on her husband, waving his hand in front of her face, "are you alright? You zoned out there."

She grinned widely and nodded her head, "I was just thinking about," she took a deep breath, "the day Royce Sr. was killed."

Emmett's arms wrapped themselves around her upper body. She wrapped hers around his lower, "I love you," she smiled as she whispered those words into his ear, "and I'll never forget what you did for me."

His lips pressed against her cheek, "I love you too." Emmett pulled himself back, and gave her a once over, "Are you okay? I heard word from Collin; you'll be out in ten minutes."

"I can do this. I got this. Right?" she looked at him for assurance, and at the nod of his head, she released a deep breath, "Why do I feel like I'm about to implode?"

"Hey, I'll be with you every step of the way." He nudged her side gently, "I was there with you five years ago, and I'm here with you now. I'm going to make a phone call and then go see where Collin is, you stay here, and try not to think too much. You'll be fine." Her husband of two years leaned forward and pecked her lips before walking away.

Rosalie felt butterflies flutter her stomach and in an attempt to forget about how nervous she is, she allowed her mind to drift off to another memory. Her eyes zoned off as she remembered being discharged from the hospital.

_If she were to never see Forks General Hospital again, it would be too soon. Two months in a coma, and two months conscious staying in a hospital was more exhausting than one would think. The day her dad wheeled a wheelchair into the room, and she sat in it for the last time, her body grew a burst of adrenaline. She was ready to go home since the day she woke up. Aro held the chair in place as she adjusted herself, "We'll be going to your mother's place. I'll stay there as long as you want me to stay. Your mother and I bought all of your favorite foods. Alice brought over your favorite movies." He stooped low beside the wheelchair, "I'm so excited to have you come home. You don't know how happy I am that the strength in you allowed for you to fight and come back to us. If you want something, anything, just ask for it. I'm so happy that I don't care what it is."_

"_When she was nine," Lillian grinned as she walked into the room, "she asked for a pony."_

"_Do you still want that pony?" Aro joked, rising back to a standing position._

_Rose took a glance at her mother and then her father, "To be honest, right now, I just really want to get out of here. I've been around sick people for far too long. And I miss my bed…oh, I miss my bed so much."_

"_Yeah, we should get you home so you can get some beauty sleep."_

_Rosalie scoffed, "Why the hell do people even call it beauty sleep? Half the time I can't even get to sleep and when I wake up I look like shit." _

_Aro backed the chair out of the room, and Lillian led the way. Rose waved at her previous attending nurses, Lauren and Eric, and before she departed from the hallway, she thanked them one last time. They appreciated the gratitude. Aro wheeled her up to the automatic doors, but left enough distance between themselves and the door so it wouldn't automatically open yet. He watched as his ex-wife lowered herself in front of her seated daughter, "I'm sorry baby," Lillian pushed a few strands of Rose's hair behind her ear, "I just wanted to say that before we headed out into that chaos. You have a long road of physical, mental and emotional recovery ahead of you, and we'll be there with you every step of the way. I love you."_

"_I love you too mom," Rose smiled, genuinely, as her mother rose back to her feet._

_Lillian walked over to Aro, and took a hold of his hand, "Let's get out of here."_

The feeling of a tap against her shoulder broke her out of her reverie. She turned to see Collin standing in front of her, "Are you ready?"

"No, but I will be," she assured, wrapping her arms around her waist, "What if I screw up and say something wrong?"

"We'll just brush it off and blame it on your inability to control your sarcasm." He laughed.

"The sad this is," she tightens her hold around her waist, "I'm not sarcastic. I really mean the stupid shit I say. I just don't want to go out there and look like an idiot. I mean, my name isn't Willy Wonka, I don't sugar coat shit. I tell it like it is and people aren't that receptive to it."

He snaps his fingers in front of her face, "Hey, you need to stay calm."

"I can't. You should know that remaining calm isn't a quality my parents possess, and unfortunately that was passed along to me. I don't have that luxury." She brought her arms up and crossed them against her chest, "We've never done a Q&amp;A and comments session before. I've always been in control, and I'm not in control of what comes out of their mouths. I have a habit of getting offended pretty easily, and my first instinct is to defend myself, verbally. However, it may not be the best time for that, and some of the things I say, is pretty unpleasant." She pressed her hands against her face, and sighed, "I should have this under control. I'm claiming it, today; I'm going to pretend to be the angel my mother raised me to be." Her hand lowered, "now, where's my husband?"

"He needed to take care of something," Collin rested his hand against her shoulder, "You'll be fine. You got this. You are courageous, dedicated, driven and strong."

"You've only known me for two years."

"And in those two years, I've witnessed how much you've grown. When you came to me, you were a lost soul. You were all over the place. You were broken. You were not the woman standing before me today. I got to see you grow and strengthen."

Rose wiped at the corners of her eyes as she pulled him into a hug, "Thank you." She held him tight and silently cried tears of gratitude into his shoulder, "Thank you so much Collin. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"Hey, we're all here because of you," he encouraged, drawing himself away; "Today would not be happening if it weren't for you Rosalie. You'll be out in five minutes. I'll go grab Emmett and then we'll be back to walk on with you." Once he departed from her surroundings, she resumed her memory.

_Rosalie stared out at the passing trees. It was summer, and her teachers had all saved the work that she missed. Jasper was bringing it over. Once she finished, she could resume her schooling without being held back. She was looking forward to being home, joking around with her friends and just moving on. However, she did miss the visits. Rose saw her house as they pulled into the driveway. Within seconds, she heard the backdoor open and her mother help her out. Rose glanced down at her shorts, and her scarred legs that were a forever reminder of her ordeal, "Can I have a few seconds…alone?"_

_Aro grabbed her overnight hospital bag, "Are you sure?"_

"_Please." She gave him a reassuring smile, "I'll be fine. I just want to enjoy this feeling…I'm finally out of the hospital for good," her toothy grin stretched across her face, "I can walk. My partially shaved head is now covered by the hair that has finally grown back. I can breathe this fresh air. I can look at my house. I won't be long, I promise. I'll be in, I just want a few seconds to appreciate all the things I took for granted."_

"_We'll be inside." He waved for Lillian to follow, and while initially she was hesitant, she did oblige. She needed to remind herself that her daughter was a big girl, and this was definitely a good sign. _

_Rose glanced down at the pathway to her house. She looked out into the street and remembered where her dad had parked the day he dropped her off. Rosalie could see Jasper's house or his old house from her position in the driveway. Every part of her had wished that they came to the hospital to be with her during the discharge, but Rose understood why that didn't happen. In the midst of her internal struggle, life does go on. Rosalie took a small step towards her house, and her eyes continually fall upon her scarred arms and legs. She took another step, and many steps began to follow until she stood outside the front door of her home. _

_The seventeen year old hadn't been here in forever. It was almost unfamiliar to her. The emphasis is on almost. This was her home of many years and she couldn't forget it no matter how hard she tried. The porch swing to her right and the potted plant to her left were reminders of how everything stayed the same in her absence. She only hoped that the inside would too. Rose took a grip of the doorknob, twisted it and pushed the wooden door open, "WELCOME BACK!"Her eyes scanned the large crowd stuffed into her living room. Her family, friends, classmates, neighbors, church friends and cheerleading team were all present to welcome her home. She was temporarily speechless, "What…is this?" A small smile tugged at her lips, "Mom, dad," she walked inside, looked around and spotted her parents, "you did this."_

"_We didn't," Aro shook his, and pointed behind her._

_She turned on her heel and spotted her brother, "James," her breath hitched as she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as her body allowed, "Jamesy." With all of the chaos over the last few months, she had completely forgotten, "You're here," she cried out, burying her face into his shirt, _"_I can't believe you're here! Welcome home!"_

"_I should be saying that to you," he pecked her forehead, as he pulled her in closer._

Tears falling down her face startled her from her memory. She was such an emotional sap. It was five years ago today that her entire world had changed. She ran her sweaty palms down her red dress as she flattened it out, "Are you ready?" She jumped, as she turned around, "I change my mind. I can't do this." Her head shakes dreadfully.

"Of course you can," Emmett pulled her into his arms, "I'll be beside you the entire time. All you have to do is talk. The people out there are here because they want to hear what you have to say. You wrote a best-selling book Rosalie so your voice could be heard; and now it is." He pressed a quick kiss against her cheek, "This isn't your first time speaking. You've spoken around the country; you've spoken at seminars and justice rallies."

"…never with that big of a crowd Emmett. I've spoken at gatherings with there being at most…20 people." She rested her forehead against his chest, "We're in New York city Emmett. We're from a really small town. It's congested here. I'm scared to death. Over three hundred people bought a ticket. That's way more people in our freaking town."

Emmett used his thumb to urge her head upwards in order to gain her attention, "That's right. Over three hundred people bought a ticket to hear you speak. You are an advocate for women against sexual assault. You are a role-model. You are an author. You are a woman who channeled her aggression, her downfalls and the unfortunate thing that happened to you in a positive way."

"You know it wasn't easy," she pressed her eyes closed in order to get rid of the tears.

"I do know that," he pulled her in even closer than before, "you're here to let them know that."

Rose exhaled a long breath, "You of all people know the rape and the beating was only the beginning. The healing process didn't come easy for me. It's one thing to write about it, but to speak of it. I'm ashamed."

"Hey," he presses his forehead against hers, "everything you went through in the past five years got you here today. And while you've never had to speak of the details before in your other speeches, there was only a matter of time. It's one thing for everyone to read what you went through, but to hear it is a whole other thing."

"I just wish my parents were here, Alice, James and Jasper too."

"I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"It's not that I don't want to talk about how I feel, it's just that I don't know how. I'm used to being the rock, not the one who needs it."

Rosalie gently pulled away, and raised her hand to cover her mouth. This was the first time she spoke at this big of an event. She was scared to death. She wanted to run out of the nearest exit. She was willing to refund everyone their money, and more, if they would just forget about this entire event. It's one thing to talk, but there's a Q&amp;A session that she doesn't think she'll be able to handle. Emmett's heart broke at the look in his wife's eyes, "Talk to me, what's wrong?"

"They're going to ask me questions," she admitted, her voice low and nervous, "What if something doesn't make sense and they question me on it?"

"Answer them to the best of your ability. Remember that's what your publicist said…"

She took a hold of his hand, "My publicist doesn't know everything. Emmett, they might ask what happened to Royce Sr. I implied that he just disappeared. He left town."

"Say what you need to say."

"I won't give you up if that is what you're insinuating…"

He cupped her face, "I don't care what you say as long as it makes you feel better."

"The statute of limitations never runs out on murder Emmett," she sets her hand on top of his as his thumb gently rubs her cheek, "I won't do it. I need you. We need each other."

"Say what you need to say. No one can tell you that you're wrong."

"Alright Rose," Collin, her publicist, pokes his head into the room, "we're heading out in a minute. Are you ready?"

"We were just discussing the fact that I can't do it." Rose shakes her head. Her palms grow sweaty as she begins pacing the room.

"Yes you can," Emmett pecked her cheek, "Remember babe, the bigger the storm, the bigger the blessings."

"Well, I've been in this storm for a while now. I have great expectations."

"When you go out there," he points towards the opening walkway, "remember to breathe."

Her breathing grows to an abnormal pace as she begins pacing faster. She hears loud chatter in the audience. The clicking of her heels sped up as she walked around the room, "Rosalie," she stopped at the sound of Collin's authoritative voice, "Two years ago, you came to me with a manuscript. You pleaded for me to hear you out. You had a voice that no one let speak, and you had a story to tell that no one listened to. I took a chance and I listened. What did I say? What did I say to you that day?"

"Everyone will tell me that I'm strong. At the end of the day I will have two choices." she repeated his words from two years ago.

"What were the choices I gave you?"

"Get up, go on and fight or lie down, give up and die."

"And what did you say to me?"

She swallowed hard, "I'm not ready to lie down just yet."

The two listened in as Rosalie was introduced by the host. She smiled at the description of herself. To hear words like that from a man she met half an hour ago did more for her esteem than the five years of her parents coaxing and praising. After a brief introduction, Emmett took a hold of his wife's hand as the two walked side by side onto the stage. A podium rested in the center, waiting for Rosalie to approach it. She drowned out the standing audience and the clapping of their hands as Emmett leaned over to whisper assurances into her ear, "You got this," he released her hand as she approached the podium. There was a huge turnout of people. Emmett stood next to Collin, a few feet behind her, and the two chimed in on the clapping. Her mind flashed between the present as the smiling faces grew wider, and the past as some sympathetic frowns reminded her of the aftermath.

_The arguing continued as the sun began to slowly set. Rose ignored the threatening words of her father and the warnings of Brady as she watched Emmett ease his way over to her stepfather. Her boyfriend presses his hand against his forehead, as his lips tremble and quake in guilt. Royce Sr.'s mouth rested wide open as the blood around the open orifice started to dry up. His eyes remained wide open as he stared into an abyss of darkness. The mayor was truly dead, and by his hands. Emmett feels the familiar hand of his girlfriend slide into his hold. She says nothing as her head lies upon his shoulder._

"_Dad, if you care about our relationship," Jasper growled, pressing a hard finger against his father's chest, "you wouldn't arrest Emmett."_

_Rose remained beside her boyfriend, "You have to drop this Brady, and so help me God, if you don't, I will do everything in my power to convince everyone that you killed him." She releases her boyfriend's hand, and begins approaching Brady, "Initially people will assume I'm lying, but then everyone here will back me up. It'll get to a point where people will start doubting you because how could quarterback Emmett kill someone. Why would he?" she smirks evilly, "They'll ask you that Brady, I hope you're prepared to tell them the answer. Why would my boyfriend kill my stepfather?"_

_Rosalie backed away and returned to Emmett's side. She retook a hold of his hand, and pressed a kiss against his knuckles, "No matter what happens, I'll be with you every step of the way." He wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulls her in and presses a kiss against her temple. _

"_Wait!" Royce Jr. finally spoke up, "we have a deal," he dreadfully approaches Aro, "I'll leave town on three conditions," Aro extends his hand to shake on it, but not before Royce Jr. states his terms, "No one can ever know why I left and what happened between me and Rose," he sees her roll her eyes as she nestles herself under her boyfriend's arm, "I need money, at least enough to sustain me until I can find another job, and the third term," he looked at Brady before looking back at Aro, "I was never here."_

_Aro shakes his hand in agreement, "Alright, pack up and get a move on things…in order for this agreement to work, you need to be gone by morning."_

"_I think you have a problem Brady," Lillian approached the town's commissioner, "hopefully you're willing to forget what happened because if not," she takes a look back at everyone, "we have all of these people willing to say you killed the mayor."_

The clapping grew in volume and broke her out of her memory. It lasted entirely too long. She took a glance throughout the audience and saw her book rested on the laps and in the arms of the spectators. There was a backdrop behind her of her book cover, and she couldn't help but smile at herself on the cover of it. She was standing tall and firm, in a teal dress, her hands on her hips as the book cover photo captured the scars running down her arms, legs, neckline, and the one running from the top of her forehead to the tip of her left ear. The teal dress was the representative color of sexual assault awareness. Her curled blonde hair framed her face perfectly as the large smile on her pictured face urged the crowd to cheer harder. She tore her eyes away from the book cover, "I know," she began to speak as the cheers died down, and people took their seats, "I know most of you are here because you've read my book, heard about my book or is planning to read my book. Some of you are here because you felt a connection to my story. Some of you are even here because you're doubters. And regardless of what brought you here, I want to thank each and every last one of you for allowing me this opportunity to come before you and tell my story. I'm a twenty-two year old, small-town girl, and when I pictured my future, I definitely did not see this. I never knew I would be standing in front of three hundred and fifty people in New York City. My town had 124 residents. My graduating class had fifteen people in it. The small town I lived in everyone knew everything about you. Everyone judged you for your faults. If someone in your family did something wrong, they judged for that too. My town thought it was perfect, and once that perfection is threatened, people turn their backs on you. That was the life. That was how it was to be in the small town I lived in, and I was fine with it…until it personally affected me."

She took a quick glance around the audience once more, "Everyone knew the details of my rape. Living in a small town, I didn't have the luxury of privacy. I was in a coma for two months. I could barely walk for weeks. I had a mini-stroke. And those who have read the book only know that that's only the beginning. The moment life kicked in for me was the day that I woke up and everyone resumed their lives. I'm glad that they did; don't get me wrong, but for me I was stuck with my thoughts. The small town that I lived in was the same town that I lost friends, family and loved-ones. A week after I was discharged from the hospital, my mother signed me up for counseling with my now mother-in-law," she spotted Esme in the audience and gave the woman a nod of the head, "and I tried for months to work with her. I met her two times a week for seven months before I quit my sessions. It wasn't working. I was on a downward spiral and I didn't think anyone could help. All of my relationships were impacted. My grades in school suffered. I quit all of my extracurricular activities. I stopped volunteering and I quit work. The only reason I still passed and graduated was because my teachers felt sympathy for me." Her hands fidgeted against the podium, as she gripped it, "One day, I thought to myself that the only way I can start to move on is if I get justice from everyone who had something to do with it. I spoke. I used my voice, but no one listened. Out of 124 people, 97 of those people assumed I was lying. 97 people called me a liar, a slut and an attention-seeker. It didn't bother me, at least not at first. I never got offended when people said mean things to or about me. I understood that they are simply dealing with their own inadequacies, and because of that, I prayed for them." Rose smiled at the many nodding heads in the audience.

"In the beginning, I convinced myself to ignore them and fight it. However, fighting it got me nowhere. Fighting it got my ex-best friend Bella, and her mother Renee arrested, and the two served a measly amount of six months in county jail. That's where fighting it got me." Rosalie had to remind herself about how far she has come. She took a glance down at her smiling face on the book cover. Within seconds, she looked back up at the crowd, "Fighting it, also got Brady, the commissioner of my town at the time, arrested, and when he was tried in front of a jury of his peers, he was found innocent. The day he was found innocent was the exact same day that Bella and Renee were released. Fighting it got people showing up at the jail and courthouse to support them. Fighting it made my life worse because the days that followed were pure torture. The town was divided between people who believed me and people who didn't. I was blamed for ruining the lives of the mayor, the commissioner, Laurent, Bella and Renee. People wrote letters, they text me, they left not so pleasant voicemails and they followed me around, tormenting me…and I said nothing. I said nothing to no one. I suffered in silence and ignored it. I thought if I didn't say anything, it would all go away. In my book, on some of the pages there are copies of the notes and screenshots of the texts that I received, and while many may just downplay them and write them off as simple name-calling, they need to keep in mind that wounds may scar the flesh, but words scar the soul. I'm a nice person. I consider myself as a decent human being, but every once in a while, I get to a point where I've had enough and I get mean, and I become a completely different person. Everyone in my town went to church, read the bible, and quoted scriptures daily, however those were the same people who refused to believe the truth, they ridiculed me, and they treated me like I was nothing. And it doesn't matter how many Sundays you sit in church or if you think you are saved. God sees what you do and how you treat people because that is what matters."

Clapping filled the audience and the loudest of the claps she could hear from behind her, coming from her husband. She smiled through her watered eyes, before continuing, "My family may be a lot of things, but weak isn't one of them. I learned how to hide it. I didn't want to be seen as feeble, frail and pathetic. No one knew what I was going through mentally. No one knew, not my parents, my brother, my best friend, not even Emmett. And after several weeks of trying to heal physically, emotionally and mentally, I…I couldn't deal with it anymore. I couldn't take it. I never got a chance to heal from what happened to me, and then I had the townspeople shoving their beliefs of their so called truth down my throat. It was all just becoming too much. I just wanted the pain to go away…so one day," she took a deep breath, "while I was home, I took some pills. That night I just wanted all of the pain to just stop. My body was still going through an unpleasant healing process, so my doctor prescribed me some painkillers the day I was discharged. The night I attempted it, Bella and Renee were released, Brady was found innocent, and fliers calling me the town liar was posted on my locker. It said God hates liars. And that night, I knew I couldn't live like this. In the beginning, I just took a pill to relieve me of what I was feeling, but it didn't work…so I took another, and another, and another, and before I knew it, I took the whole bottle of painkillers." As she continues telling the story, she thought back to that unfortunate day.

_James burst through the bathroom door. He heard the water running, and the overflowed tub spilling water onto the tiled floor which eventually leaked into the hallway alerted him that something was off. When he opened the bathroom door, he saw his sister's pajama-covered body floating face up in the water, "ROSE!" He rushes through the puddle of water, and grabbed her soaking wet body, "No! No! No!" He turns the tub water off, and pulls her onto the tiled floor._

_He presses his ear against her mouth, and hears barely any breathing. James pulls out his cell phone and immediately calls the paramedics, "This is James, I need an ambulance for Rose. We're at my house. Get here quick! She's not breathing!" He tossed his phone aside, and began applying CPR, "Come on Rose," he starts, but there is no response, "Come on, and take a breath for me!" He continues the CPR until he notices the empty pill bottle floating pass him, "No! Don't do this to me Rose!" He picks up her soaked body, and races out of the bathroom, "No! Just hold on…please! Hold on for me!" James barely sounds audible due to the choking sobs he was struggling to hold back, "I can't lose you." He sets her down onto the couch, "Come on! FIGHT!" James lowers his ear to her mouth and hears shallow breaths. She was getting even weaker as time passed._

"_Where are the damn paramedics?" He lowers his hand and checks her pulse. It's weak, but it's there and that's what matters, "Come on Rose, just hold on," he runs his hand through her wet hair, "They're here." He sees the ambulance pull up into the driveway. Jane and Alec, the two paramedics of the town raced into the unlocked front door of Lillian's home, "Where is she?"_

"_Right here," James pointed down, as she lay resting upon the couch, "She took some pain pills and fell asleep in the tub. You have to save her."_

She broke out of her reverie as the memory faded away, "As you all are aware, I survived. After the doctors saved my life, I resented James for it. I didn't speak to him for an entire month because he saved me. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?" She pushed back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, "After I was saved, I thought about it. I thought about suicide every second of the day, because even when I think it's getting better, something happens to make it worse. And after my failed attempt, my family and friends knew something was wrong. I was angry," the passion could be heard in her voice as she watched a few of the audience members wipe tears from their eyes, "I was filled with so much rage and when my brother saved me, I knew I should have been grateful, but at the time, I didn't see it that way. I saw it as him wanting me to stay alive so I could continue suffering. I saw it as him subjecting me to the bullshit this town delivered." Her eyes occasionally made eye contact with some of the audience members, "I just wanted for someone to help me move on," she ignored the two cameras recording her in the back of the auditorium, "I needed someone to notice that I wasn't okay. However, after my suicide attempt, I was just thrown back into therapy. The reason why my sessions with my therapist didn't work was because I wouldn't talk. I could not talk about what happened to me. I refused. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was afraid that if I told someone, I would breakdown and I wouldn't be able to get back up. I was afraid that I wouldn't want to get back up. It didn't work for the last seven months, and it still didn't work for the next three ones either." Rosalie lifted the microphone from the podium hold and held it up to her lips, "After I quit that session, I knew I was a lost cause. The anniversary of my attack approached and I couldn't handle it. That year it fell on a Sunday so everyone was in church. I convinced my parents that I wanted to be alone, and they obliged…only because my first attempt was months ago and they thought I was passed it. I thought me being alone was for the best, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I felt numb." Her breath began to hitch as she struggled to continue on. This was a process, and being able to tell her story was healing, "I went to church, and the church in my small town is huge because that's where a lot of us spend our free time. I decided to go to the roof," she felt her husband approach her from behind and wrap his arm around her waist, "I went to the roof and I just looked over the ledge. I stood there for thirty minutes thinking about the pain going away. I remember church letting out, and Bella saw me first. She got everyone's attention and they all stood there, staring."

While this was not Rosalie's first time giving a speech about her ordeal, it was the first time it was in more detail. Usually someone had to read the book in order to find out everything, but with the large turnout, and the time slot she had to fill, she knew it was time for her to tell everything and use her voice to connect with those who feel speechless. Rose set the microphone back in the hold, "Bella and Renee tried to apologize to me, but my dad yelled for them to shut up. He knew I didn't care to hear what they had to say. I was sobbing and my parents and friends tried to talk me down. I could barely see them through the tears in my eyes. My mom was crying. My dad was begging me to step back. Emmett," she nodded her head in his direction, "was pleading with me not to do it. I told them that I wasn't strong enough to live and deal with this. Ten months of therapy didn't work. The pain pills did nothing. Constantly seeing Brady, Bella and Renee were reminders and I couldn't live with it."

As Rosalie continued the story, she thought back to that time. In concurrence with her verbal account of the day, her mind flashbacked to the actual visual of the tale, _"I can't do it! I can't go back to my normal life! My mind won't allow me to move on! I keep trying, but I'm not strong enough to get passed this. I can't act like everything is okay! I can't pretend that nothing happened!"_

"_We don't want you to," Aro strained his neck to look further up at the four floor drop, "We want you to yell at us, break stuff, curse someone out, anything, but keep it to yourself."_

_She took a step closer to the ledge, "Dad, nothing's going to work. I tried everything. And I can't live like this anymore. I just want for this to be over. I'm tired. I'm so tired." _

_Before her next movement, she heard the roof door open. Her brother stood under the threshold, holding his hands out as he moved in closer, "Talk to me. Come on Rose. I came home for you. Before I left for the military, you made me promise to fight. You had me give you my word that I would do anything to stay alive and come back to you and mom. I did."_

"_James," she turned around to face him, while remaining on the ledge, "I never made the same promise. You're stronger than me."_

"_That's not true," he shook his head as he examined her appearance, "Let me help you. Let me be there for you."_

_Her mascara was running down her face. The wind blew her hair into frenzy as it sat erratically on top of her head. Her clothes were baggy, but that was nothing new. Since being released from the hospital last year, she's been wearing clothes that were two sizes too big. _

"_Rose," James inched forward, "what happened to my innocent little sister?"_

"_She died around this time last year."_

"_Rose-"_

_Rosalie took a step closer, "No! You don't get it! I've heard everything! It's not your fault. It is your fault. You did nothing wrong! You could have avoided this! And you want to know my favorite that I continually hear; sometimes bad things happen to good people." She took a glance down at the ground and saw her parents angling themselves below her, "I was going to throw you a welcome back party. I used my entire paycheck to buy food from the grocery store and decorations at Laurent's shop. I walked a hole into my shoe just to get to the store and back, but I didn't care. I didn't care because you were worth it. I wanted to do it for you, and that is the most selfless thing I could think of to welcome you back, but he had to ruin it. He ruined everything and I hate him for that."_

"_He deserves your hate."_

"_But he's not here to feel the wrath of it!" Rosalie clenched her hands as she turned to face forward. She saw the townspeople all observe from the bottom, and no one said anything. They watched in shock, as she closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, "This isn't your fault James."_

_Rose closed her eyes and leaned forward. She heard gasps and shouts of protest fill her ears as her body left the ledge. Within seconds, contact with the ground was made, and when she reopened them, she was laying on the rooftop, "You have to stop saving me."_

"_No can do," he rose to his feet, and wiped the grime off of his church clothes._

"I never knew a real hero until my brother became one, however at the time I didn't need rescuing. I didn't need a savior because sometimes you have to be your own hero. One would have thought I got better after that, but the negativity overpowered the positivity in my life," she got her voice together and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, "I was the girl who tried to kill herself twice. The small town I lived in shunned me even more because suicide is considered an unforgiveable sin. There was nothing I could do that didn't result in them making me feel like a social outcast. I found it amusing, sad and pitiful that one's honesty and character can be attacked by individuals who have neither. I was forced back into therapy, but this time it was five days a week and on the fifth day of every week my parents and brother joined me." She smiled softly at the memory of their family sessions, "At home, I was alright because I had my parents and brother there to be with and distract me, but they had jobs and my medical bills were more expensive than one would think." She took another deep breath at the memory of just how far off she was years ago, "I blamed myself for that too. I was my biggest enemy because at the end of the day, the townspeople went home and I got a break from them, however I was forever stuck with my mind."

Rosalie felt a weight lift off of her as she continued her speech, "I didn't talk. My sessions were filled with me and my therapist staring at each other. She would ask questions and I wouldn't answer. It was a bit awkward," she smirked, "however, after one of my sessions, before I left to go home, she pulled me to the side and said, the only thing that's worse than pain is the pain that has to be suffered in silence. Since I couldn't bring myself to talk to her, she recommended that I write it all down. I was told to write down everything. So I did. I wrote down what happened to me, how I felt, what led up to it, the impact it caused, who was involved, how people treated me afterwards, my suicide attempts…everything!"

Rosalie's fingers brushed over the cover of her book, "I kept it hidden in my room for three years. And I did feel a little better because I would add to it over time, but it all changed, two years ago, the day Brady was reinstated as the commissioner. For three years, I was improving. I was getting better. I realized that you can't please everyone. The people who lack the skill to accept their own faults are often the self-proclaimed experts in explaining the faults in everyone else. I took classes at the community college a little outside of town. I got engaged to my high school sweetheart, and eventually we got married, but one day I saw Brady arrest some high school kid for shoplifting, and I couldn't believe how screwed up that was! Brady should have been the one in handcuffs along with my stepfather! However, that didn't happen! That is the small town that I live in…the small town I live in gets justice if a sixteen year old kid steals a banana from the supermarket, but it judges a woman for trying to rise up and get justice for her rape. The small town I live in shuns those who don't agree with the collective opinion, and because of that they torment you and make you feel not wanted." She felt the sadness go away and anger take its place, "I went home. I grabbed the typed manuscript and I drove into the city. The first publishing agency that I saw, I ran into, but I was turned away. I was turned away from four businesses, before I ran into Collin's publishing agency. The entire ride there I was on the verge of tears, and the four rejections didn't help. By the time I walked into the office, and went up to Collin, I was crying." She smirked to herself, "I didn't know him at the time, but I went up to him, slammed the manuscript down in front of him and said that I want to get this published. He started explaining to me how there's a process and it doesn't work that way. I wanted to start the process as soon as possible, but he told me that I needed an editor and the public has to be interested and invested. It needs to sell. Publishing companies only publish books that will make revenue." She looked up at the ceiling and smiled as the memory played out in her head.

_Her hand rested atop of the thick manuscript situated on his desk, "It needs to sell," she repeated, lifting the stack of typed pages up, "I was raped by my stepfather, who happened to be the mayor of my town, in the middle of an abandoned campsite. He called the commissioner; they beat me to a pulp and dumped my body in a river. I was supposed to die, but someone found me. I was in a coma for two months. I had a stroke when I woke up. I couldn't walk for weeks. They covered it up. People in my town helped them do it. I tried to kill myself…twice. I was obviously unsuccessful." She held her manuscript out towards him, "The justice system failed me, so now, I have to take measures into my own hands."_

_Collin's face looked surprised. He glanced down at the stacked papers as she slowly set them back down. His mouth was agape as his wide eyes took in her appearance, "I am-"_

"_I summarized my over two-hundred page manuscript in less than thirty seconds."_

_He picked up the pages, "How old were you?"_

"_I was seventeen." _

"_What made you want to do this now?"_

"_Brady, the commissioner of my home town, he was recently reinstated," she sighs to herself as her body leans against his desk, "I don't have a voice in that town, especially because everyone respects him. People rarely listened to what I had to say, and that's a product of it."_

"_You've been through a lot at such a young age…"_

_Rosalie gave him a kind smile, "Someone once told me that the challenges that enter in our lives aren't here to break us, but to make us." She saw the respect and the interest in his eyes. It pushed her to continue. "Over the past three years I had to cut a lot of people out of my life. I cancelled my subscriptions on friends and classmates because they had too many issues that impacted me."_

_Collin chuckles silently to himself at the lightness in her words, "You are making light of such a serious conversation."_

"_I hear I'm pretty good at that," she shrugs her shoulders, "Some people have a problem with it, but there will always be that one person who accepts you for who you are," she smiles down at the wedding band wrapped around her finger._

"_I don't even know your name."_

"_Rosalie, but you can just call me Rose."_

"_Rose, from what I hear, you're making a lot of accusations in your book."_

_She shakes her head, "They're not accusations if they're true."_

"_No offense Rose-"_

"_No offense just means you're about to offend me, and I'm going to have to be okay with it."_

_Collin rose from his seat, "I was just going to say no offense because when this comes out, there is always a possibility for a lot of backlash. I want you to be prepared for that."_

"_Does that mean we'll publish it?"_

"_Yeah," he sets his hand upon her shoulder, "Everyone will tell you that you're strong. And at the end of the day, you'll have two choices, either get up, go on and fight or lie down, give up and die_."

_She swallowed hard, "I'm willing to fight. I'm not ready to lie down just yet."_

Rosalie walks around the podium, holding the book tightly in her arms, "There's no time limit or expiration date in getting over something like this, and while the scars that are present on my body are permanent reminders of what I went through, they're also reminders of what I survived. I was supposed to die that day. And no I don't want sympathy or for anyone to feel sorry for me. The small town that I lived in felt sorry for me enough. And I hope my story reaches the ears of those people who really need to hear it, because that's what I'm here for. Never regret anything. If it's good, it's a memory, and if it's bad, it's an experience. I'm here for the people who feel as if they have no voice, because you do. We all do. And when things like this happen, they change us," she nodded as her arms held her book tighter, "I do miss the girl I once was, but she's still here. She'll always be a part of me. Chapters end and new ones begin. Sometimes we need to let go of what's holding us back from starting a new chapter, and for me, it was the small town that I grew up in. I couldn't stay there and be successful. Their mentalities wouldn't allow it." Emmett approached her, and rested his arm around her waist, "And that's the story, that's my story of The Small Town I Live In," she held up the book as her eyes read the title.

"It's time for questions and comments." Collin announced, walking off of the stage in order to prep.

The young twenty-two year old glanced down at her book cover. She couldn't pull her eyes away from it. It took years for her to embrace the scars on her body. It took time for her to smile and feel genuinely happy. Her fingers ran across the title, _The Small Town I Live In…_ it was originally written in her town, and after moving away, she considered changing the title to a more past tense version, however Collin thought it was best to leave everything the way it was originally written. It was pure passion and emotion in her book and he didn't want to change a single word. She flipped the book over and took a long look at the close up of her face printed out on the back book cover. The scar stretching from her forehead to the top of her ear shined brightly as the flash brought out every scratch and blemish. It was real. She didn't allow the photographers to Photoshop her wounds away. They were a part of her story…they were a part of her healing. She opened the book and saw the dedication to her family and the friends that stood by her side and fought for and with her. If it wasn't for them, she wouldn't be here today.

She could hear the staff of the auditorium prepare the microphone to be passed around to those with questions and comments. As she waited for them to finish, she continued examining her book. The first chapter titled _The Day My Life Changed_ caught her eye. The first line was the date of her attack. The following paragraphs were about her day…her good day and the excitement behind her brother's return. As the readers continued to read, they noticed a shift. She wasn't afraid to call people out by name, especially those who were involved. Rose skipped to the colored photos, depicting a picture of the Welcome to Forks sign, which made her glance back at the book cover. There she stood, smiling brightly as she leaned against the sign that welcomed unlucky people to her town.

"Before I ask my question, I have a comment to make," she closes the book as she hears a familiar voice, "I'm speaking on behalf of myself and those standing beside me," she looks up in shock, "you have made us-"

"Dad," before he could finish his compliment, she spoke into the microphone. Aro stood in the center of the audience walkway with her mother, brother, Alice and Jasper all standing beside him. She didn't wait for a response as she rushed down the stairs of the stage, "mom and dad."

Within seconds impact was made, and her arms swallowed her parents into her hold. She buried her face between their forms and fell content within their embraces, "You made it!"

"We haven't missed one yet," Lillian pecked her daughter's head, "Why would we start now?"

"How," she took a step back and looked around at her family and friends, "How did you all get here? Mom and dad, you missed your flight here two days ago. James you got called back to duty. Alice," she turned to her best friend, "you just started your new job yesterday, and Jas," she took a glance at her other friend, "you used up all of your vacation time. How did you all get here?"

"Ask your husband," Aro nodded his head in the direction of Emmett approaching, "he made it happen. He flew us all in early this morning. We got here ten minutes before your speech."

"I love you," she mouthed to her husband before he pecked her cheek.

"Should we resume?" Collin spoke into the microphone from the stage.

Rose briefly hugs her parents, "Of course."

As Rosalie walked onto the stage, she heard her family and friends walking behind her. They were going to remain behind her as a woman approached the microphone in the audience walkway, "Hi Rosalie, I'm Tia," the middle-aged woman waved.

"Hi Tia," Rose greeted the slightly older woman.

Tia smiles in response before clearing her throat, "I admire your dedication and strength. What you are doing is amazing." The woman wrapped her fingers around the microphone stand as she continued, "I just got your book a few days ago, and I'm a little after the tenth chapter. I'm curious to know, what became of the scumbag that hurt you?"

"I like to believe he's suffering in hell."

Laughter filled the auditorium at her response. The irony of it brought laughter from her family and closest friends. She chuckled silently to herself, "How come something is always funnier when you are not supposed to laugh?" Tia remained at the mic, signaling she had another question.

The crowd heard Tia clear her throat, "I just have one more question and then the next person can come on up." Rose nodded as Tia continued, "Your small town, you have history there. In your book you said that it will always hold a part of you, and the cover is even the picture of the town's sign. The townspeople knew you for your entire life. They've known your family line for generations…I guess what I'm trying to ask is, I know that no matter how family treats you, you still care about them. And I was wondering, does any part of you still care?"

Rosalie took a quick sip of her water before sitting it back down onto the podium, "I do…I do still care," she shrugs unashamedly, "I care for them…not enough to jump in front of a bus, but I'll throw a rock at it at least to slow it down." Tia giggled into the microphone, before turning on her heel and heading back to her seat.

Rosalie smiled at the sight of the next person approaching the mic, but at the sight of one of the auditorium doors opening and the familiar face of a man she hasn't seen in years entered the room, the smile dropped. She saw the older and aged face of her former step-brother as he raced up to the stage, "We need to talk."

Rose turned the microphone off, "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"We had an agreement," Aro growled, slowly stepping forward, "You didn't hold up your end of the bargain. Backstage, now." The angered father pointed into the direction, however the now thirty-one year old didn't move, "Don't make me force you."

Royce Jr. took a glance at his surroundings before walking into the direction of Aro's pointed finger. Before Rose could follow her family off of the stage, Collin gently grabbed her arm, "Who is that?"

"Royce Jr." she answered, and by the nod of Collin's head, he understood. He watched as she followed her family off of the stage, before turning to face the audience. As her publicist and friend, he had to stall, at least until she could return to the podium.

Rosalie was on Royce Jr's heel as he walked backstage. She reached forward and grabbed his arm, turning him around to face her, "We're not supposed to be seeing each other. You are not supposed to be here. What are you doing?"  
He started, "I had to come see you-"  
"Don't make me snap. With you I am one step away from being on the news." Rosalie growled, slapping her hand across his face, "Please, don't tell me that you are here to profess your undying love to me."

"No," he shakes his head, "I wouldn't do that to you." Everyone can tell he's flustered as he continues, "You look good though," he eyes her, forcing her husband to step forward.

"What the hell do you want Royce? Why are you here?"

"I have to tell you all something that you need to know. I couldn't call, and it's been hot topic about Rose's speech today so I knew where everyone would be."

Lillian growls, "Just spit it out already, because I'm not going to lie, I'm seriously contemplating how much you're worth going to prison for." She stood chest to chest with him, refusing to back down, "So just quit beating around the bush, and get to it."

"I got a call," he swallowed hard, "from the coroner's office in Port Angeles."

Alice left Jasper's side as she approached the older guy, "Port Angeles? That's the next town over from Forks, why did they call you?"

"They're a larger city than our small town," Royce started to explain, grabbing an unopened water bottle from the backstage refreshments table, "Apparently a decayed corpse was found on the road outside of Port Angeles, the coroner ran some tests and it was identified and it belonged to my father. I got a call from them." He took a large gulp of water, "They want me to come into town to get questioned. They find it suspicious how I haven't spoken to my father in five years, and didn't report anything. I think they're ruling his death a homicide. And they're going to want to talk to you all too."

"Us," Jasper looked around, confused, "Why us?"

"Because according to the state his body was found in, they said he died around five or six years ago…that's around the same time Rose woke up from her coma and started pointing the finger at my father."

"You're saying that like I lied."

"No," Royce voice falls flat, "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we need to think about this. They'll eventually reach out to you, and want your alibis and your statements. We got away with it for five years…and now our luck has run out."

Jasper shook his head in disbelief, "My father will handle this. He is still the police commissioner, and even though we haven't spoken in five years, if we go down, he goes down too for covering it up."

"The Port Angeles police are conducting the investigation since his body was found in their jurisdiction. Your father has no power over this. And they are against handing the case over to our small town because we don't have the resources, and ever since her book came out," he points angrily in Rose's direction, "there's a lack of trust with our police in town because she insinuated they're crooked and covered it up."

"Because Brady did!" Aro defended, taking a step in front of his daughter, "Okay, Royce, obviously we can't see eye to eye, and while I'm usually more of a fist to face kind of guy, we do have better things to discuss. What are you going to say?"

"The truth…"

"What?" Rosalie quickly glances at her husband, "You can't."

"At first I was willing to lie," he pulls out his car keys, "but I'm done with the lying. I'm over the threats. I'm done living in fear and regret. I should have said something that day, but I took the easy way out. I'm prepared to suffer the consequences for my part in it." He began walking in the direction of the exit, ignoring the shouts of his name and yells of protest.

"We're screwed," Rose looked at her husband in a panic.

James stood quiet the entire time, completely confused, "Screwed? Why? What the hell did you all do? Did you kill Royce Sr.?"

"It's a long story," Rosalie breathed a sigh of frustration.

Aro pulled his daughter into her arms, "I'll take care of it."

"We don't need any more bodies' dad," Rose laid her head against his chest, "I finally get my life together. I'm married. I have the best job and I'm making a great salary…and now it's over."

"It's not over," Lillian rested her hand against her daughter's back, "Remember sweetheart, it's not over until we say it's over. You're only twenty-two, your life just started, trust your father and I when we say we'll handle it. Don't worry about it."

"But Royce Jr.-"

"He's a problem," Aro agreed, brushing his lips against his daughter's forehead, "and problems always get solved."

**A/N:**

**This is the end of this story; however, I've received messages to do a sequel. The sequel will be titled Web of Deceit and will be published as soon as possible. Keep checking in and I hope you all continue to read the sequel. **

**-Tiffany.**


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